Minecraft - Legend of the End
by SilentHillKitty
Summary: Steve is a young man with a dark past. Waking up on a large island so different from his home, he learns the ways to survive the nights and creatures lurking within the darkness. Fascinated by the many myths the people speak of, one in particular catches his interest; The End. Delving too deep, he uncovers a secret that links him with the same legend-Full Summary In First Chapter
1. Chapter 1 - New Start

**Full Summary: Steve is a young man with a dark past. Waking up on a large island so different from his home, he learns the ways to survive the nights and creatures lurking within the darkness. Fascinated by the many myths the people speak of, one in particular catches his interest; The End. Delving too deeply into the myth, he soon uncovers a secret that links himself together with the same legend. Being dragged into the story circling around the End, Steve simply tries to continue not only surviving; but also continuing to battle his own demons he keeps within. All at the same time, his presence on the island unintentionally catches the growing interest of another myth that the people dare not speak of out of pure fear for their lives; Herobrine...! **

**Important:**** This story is YAOI! The Pairing, if not easily guessable, is Herobrine x Steve. If that's not your cuppa tea I apologize. Rating starts out as T but WILL be bumped up to M much later into the story. ;) Hope you enjoy!**

**And just throwing the disclaimer out there: I do not own(sadly) nor make any profit from(again, sadly) Minecraft. Nor any of the characters except those I made up for this story. Minecraft ©** **Mojang and the brilliant minds that work there. Though I guess now I say Minecraft belongs to Microsoft. XD  
**

* * *

[CHAPTER I]

[New Start]

The blazing heat beaming down from the sun high above did little to slow him down as he continued to make his way through the endless sea of sand that appeared to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Swallowing to dampen his parched throat, he paused in his steps, shoulders drooping slightly as he allowed the heavy bag that housed his current items fall to the sand with a muted _thud_, a loud popping noise coming from his left shoulder upon rolling the stiffness out of it. Bringing his right hand up, he began massaging the soreness out left behind by the strap of the bag as it had long ago began digging into his flesh through the thin material of his light blue shirt. Violet eyes lifted up towards the clouds, soon bringing his right arm up to shield his vision from the harsh UVs.

A sigh a relief left his lungs upon seeing the sun's current location.

Though it was at its hottest and most brutal peak, he knew he still had about seven more hours to go before dusk would be reached, signaling not only the cold night that contrasted the heat of the day; but also calling forth the many creatures that thrived in the darkness.

With a deep inhale, he lowered his arm and eyes, looking down to the brown bag that had sunk a little in the soft sand it was nestled in. Releasing the breath he held for a few seconds, he bent over and reached for the strap once more, lifting the heavy bag up and throwing it over his shoulder to continue forth on his way.

As he pressed on, he allowed his mind to wander, trying to glue together some sort of picture of where he was in that moment of time.

He had no goal as to where he was going. Ever since arriving on this massive island, he simply wandered the different 'biomes' he's come to learn that the different sections of this land were referred to, surviving on a day by day basis. Never really seeing himself the "adventuring" type, a small smile pulled at his chapped lips at the strange thought that he was rather enjoying this life. It was far different from the one that was both taken from him and left behind by him.

And even though he's only been here for roughly around six months, he was quickly catching on to the way this land functions. He's already learned of all the precious materials this land was deeply rich in, and knowing which tools were perfect for which job. He was also quick to learn of the different creatures that roamed the land freely, knew how to identify them and expose their weaknesses.

He was also familiar already with the many different rumors and myths that kept a dark hold on this otherwise beautiful land.

Being somewhat of a skeptic, he wasn't too sure how he felt about the stories he's heard. Nonetheless, they all intrigued him to keep the small light of curiosity burning just bright enough to allow himself to sit in the company of the villagers and listen to their tales.

The one he would have to admit that interested him the most, was the myth about The End. He was never really able to get much info out of people before they would clamp up out of fear.

He had high hopes that the village he was currently aiming for would have a wider verity of villagers actually willing to speak more about the myth and the legend attaching it to the mythical Ender Dragon.

A sudden thought fluttered through his mind as he thought back to the many different towns and villages he has passed through. All the people living there seemed…. different compared to himself. He would always feel so out of place whenever entering a town or village for the first time.

The alienated feeling would always wash away however, once he began conversing with the people. Everyone seemed to enjoy his own stories and tales, and were equally annoyed whenever he would turn the tables by refusing to speak of more that intrigued them about him.

He didn't do it to spite them. His past wasn't a myth or legend. It was real. And painful. Still though… those thoughts were not enough to prevent a smug grin to grace his lips upon their reactions and expressions when he would abruptly leave the group.

Fatigue was slowly dawning on him as he pushed himself to climb a dune, breath becoming slightly ragged as the heat continued pounding against him. Knees ached as he pressed on, soon reaching the top with a loud sigh.

Scanning the land on the other side of the hill, a smile came to him upon seeing the wavy image of the village he had been searching for off in the distance. And with a quick glance up at the waning sun, he tightened his hold on the strap and continued onward. If his calculations were correct, he would reach the village just before the sun hits the horizon, giving himself about forty-five minutes to replenish his stock and find a place to sleep for the night.

Ignoring the aches and pains that ran throughout his being, he kept his violet eyes on the prize, grin growing wider as the village grew larger.

Upon reaching the village limits, he took note that he had actually over calculated and had about an hour before nightfall, allowing him fifteen extra more minutes to prepare and get more acquainted with this town.

As he entered, he smiled to those who stopped what they were doing to watch him with cautious eyes. He has figured by now that whenever he entered a village for the first time, their reactions towards him are the same as his were upon the first village he ever entered shortly upon arriving here.

He was the outsider.

He had been told by many different people that they have never seen a person like him before, earning joking jabs from him like have they never seen another human being.

With which they would respond saying that they have…

… just not one like him.

He wasn't too sure how he felt about that answer… and it certainly didn't help the loneliness that long ago began creeping its way inside him. Sure he has made many friends along his journey, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was alone…

Clearing his mind of those thoughts, he filled it with a new goal; water.

Smiling upon reaching one of the many villagers with goods to trade, he approached the man's venue and examined his wares.

The villager, looking identical to the rest of the villagers around this land, and looking to be in his late-forties, leaned over his table, brow rising slightly while eying the stranger, "Hey there. Don't think we've seen you around here before. Come from one of the neighboring biomes?" he asked, a genuine smile on his face.

A chuckle passed him before lifting his head up, looking into the man's green eyes, but before he could respond, the man leaned back with a look of surprise on his face, "Wow! Your eyes! I—I apologize for my rudeness, but it's just that… well I've never seen such a color before…" he leaned in real close suddenly, his own eyes squinting as if forcing them to get a clearer view.

Another chuckle, only this time accompanied with a shake of his head, left him as he smiled, "Please. No need to apologize. I've quickly learned I'm apparently unique in these parts." He said, a slight wince was seen in his expression upon doing so.

The villager saw this and blinked, "Is something the matter when you speak?"

A small hum was his first response before speaking again, taking note of the growing crowd forming around the table he stood at, "I'm just not quite acquainted with the heat here yet. I just crossed the dessert so my throat is a little dry is all."

Quiet murmurs could be heard around them at his words, causing a slight alarm to rise. However, all paranoia fled him upon the vender placing a large, wooden jug before him, filled with water. "Ah, yes. The heat waves here show no mercy to newcomers. Here, drink this. And don't worry about payment. Take it as a welcoming gift."

All too happy for the water, he reached out, thanked the man and took the offered "gift". Within just a few swallows, he managed to completely empty the container, shivering slightly as he was able to feel the cool liquid running down the entire length of his throat due to just how dry it was.

The vendor chuckled while taking back the now empty jug, peering inside to see that it was practically bone dry, "My, you certainly weren't kidding about being thirsty. My name is Melz. I own and run this shop. My wife and I also own and run the village Inn, just up the pathway behind me. We have some vacancies if you're looking for a place to stay for the night. I'm sure you're well aware of the Mobs that lurk around this biome."

No longer feeling as if on the brink of death brought on by dehydration, he smiled with a nod, "That would be great. Thank you!"

Melz gave a laugh while beginning to pack his things up for the evening. "Great. Let me just close up for the night and I'll take you there." It didn't take long for him to load up his wares and seal everything up to protect the items from monsters and thieves alike.

On their way towards a three story building, Melz noticed the strange and even dirty looks the visitor was getting, rolling his eyes with a huff and turning to face them, "Instead of making our guest feel uncomfortable, maybe you should all prepare for the night that is upon us?!" he snapped, instantly causing everyone around them to jump and run off in different directions. After making sure everyone had left, he sighed again, turning to face the other. "I apologize on their behalf. With how far out we are, I'll admit we don't get many outsiders."

The man winced at the term that was used. Even if it _were_ true, it always allowed that same damn alienated feeling to creep into his sub-consciousness. With a stern shake of his head, he forced a chuckle. "It's alright. Again, you don't need to apologize. I… I understand." He mentally cursed at himself for choking a little on his last statement, narrowing his eyes into a scowl that he directed towards the gravel they walked on.

Just as the sun was beginning to hide behind the horizon, and the first of the many creatures could be seen and heard far off in the distance, they reached the building labeled as the Inn. Melz walked ahead of him to hold open the door. With a thank you, the man walked in, sighing with content at the very obvious temperature difference being indoors.

Giving a quick look around outside, Melz gave a nod to no one in particular before shutting the door and throwing the lock, followed by sliding a thick iron rod into place right across it at waist high to support it against being rammed.

With a whistle and a clap, Melz turned his attention once again to the other male, "Right. This way please. We'll sign you in and give you a room. Glorenda? Are you here, dear?" he called out suddenly while walking up to the main desk.

Suddenly, a woman around the same age as Melz appeared from behind a dark blue curtain that separated the front foyer with the room that he guessed held all the keys and possible supplies. She looked the same as the villagers, only difference being her waist long black hair. She wasn't wearing anything too fancy, just tan colored pants, black sandles and a grey long-sleeved shirt.

Her face brightened upon seeing her husband, "Oh Melz! I was beginning to worry once I started seeing the shadows of dusk on the kitchen walls! You really have been getting home later and later!" she scolded him but in a caring manner.

A sad smile crept across his face as he stood silently to the side witnessing the little dispute as Melz began to practically grovel at his wife's feet. They really cared for each other. Though happy to know people do actually love each other deeply… a heavy, dull ache weighed painfully in the center of his chest.

He would never have that again…

Lost in his thoughts, he nearly missed when Glorenda noticed him standing there, all her "anger" towards her husband forgotten as she walked up to him, "Oh! A guest! Sweetheart, you look exhausted! Come, come! I'll get a room set up for you." She took his hand in a motherly fashion and guided him towards the desk. She then disappeared behind a corner that led to a staircase, heading up to the second floor to prepare his room.

With a chuckle, he turned towards Melz, "She's sweet."

Melz nodded, though sighed, "I thought I was in big trouble. I did not mean to stay out this late…"

"Seems it's my turn to apologize. Had I not kept you, you most likely would have returned at a better time."

Melz just scoffed while waving him off, "Nah. I would have still most likely been late anyways. But I think your presence saved me from a terrible fate!" he then burst out laughing, earning a laugh from the other. Once he settled down, he cleared his throat. "Oh! That reminds me… I haven't asked you for your name yet?"

Setting his bag down on the wooden floor by his feet to have it lean up against his leg, he looked up to see Melz smiling at him. Remembering that he had in fact failed to introduce himself, he blushed in embarrassment, "Oh, sorry. How rude of me." He chuckled while straightening up. Holding his hand out for Melz to take in a shake, he smiled; "My name is Steve. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Melz took the offered hand and gave it a few friendly shakes, "Steve, hunh? Unusual name. But I like it! It's nice to meet you! And welcome to Sanderlorum!" he beamed with pride while mentioning the village's name.

Steve smiled even more, feeling his aching muscles beginning to relax for the first time in a long while. He loved this feeling he got within any village. The people here were all so nice and caring… Nothing like what he had in the past…

When he first woke up on that beach many months ago, fear and dread were the first things to enter him. His first night here nearly drove him mad. But he thrived to stay strong, putting all of his skills to the test to survive.

Once he got the hang of the place, the next thought to enter his mind was finding a way off the island and to return to where he came from…

Whatever was left of his home that is…

But as he continued to travel across this land, meeting all the people he has, he suddenly began getting a new idea into his mind.

Maybe this was the new start he needed?

If he had _any_ idea of just what this land had in store for him… then in the beginning he would have wished he had drowned in the cold water during that horrible night…

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2 - The Mobs

[Chapter II]

The Mobs

* * *

It didn't take long for Steve to be shown his room and get settled in. After paying the charge and thanking them once again, he shut his door and locked it. _Habit... _ He thought to himself with a frown.

Though no one ever seemed to have messed with him while he slept, and it seemed the Mobs weren't quite smart enough to understand the mechanics of a doorknob, his past still clung to him; causing a foul sense of paranoia.

With a tired sigh and shake of his head, he turned towards the single bed in the rather small and plain looking room.

Placing his bag of belongings on top the wooden table, he made his way towards the bathroom where he washed up before retiring for the night.

Morning came all too fast for his exhausted and worn body's liking as he pushed himself to his feet to start yet another early day.

Jumping slightly upon the soft knock against his door, Steve reached for his bag, about ready to arm himself until Glorenda's gentle voice filtered through the thick wood. "Dearie, I've made some breakfast if you're hungry?" she asked, her tone soft and concerning.

Forcing his nerves to relax, Steve smiled at the thought of food, his stomach growling in agreement. With a groan as his body ached, he got to his feet, slowly making his way towards the door and unlocking it.

He was surprised when he opened it to see Glorenda right outside his door; holding a covered bowl with a warm smile on her face. "Good morning! I went ahead and prepared you a dish. I do hope you don't mind."

With a nod of thanks, Steve took the offered bowl. "Not at all. Thank you very much, but you didn't need to trouble yourself with bringing it to me." He began before the aroma reached his nose. "Mmm. It smells amazing!"

She chuckled, "Oh it's nothing special, dear. Just an old mushroom soup I learned from my mother when I was a little girl!" she waved him off, turning and heading back down the hall. "Once you're done eating just set the bowl outside your door. I'll pick it up later." she called out to him over his her.

Waiting until she vanished behind the corner, Steve retreated back into his room, only this time not locking the door behind him.

After finishing his meal, he did as she instructed and sat the empty bowl right outside his room. With a rejuvenating stretch, he gathered his belongings and went through his inventory, making notes of what he was running low on, and what he had already run out of.

Taking up a much smaller bag that held his recently mined emeralds, he headed for the door, planning on stopping by Melz's stand to replenish as much of his stock that the man had available. With the kindness he and his wife have shown him, he would be more than happy to give them all of his business.

As he walked down the path, he took notice of many of the villagers still giving him weary looks, causing him to wonder if something had happened to this village in the past to warrant their untrusting of visitors.

Arriving at Melz's stand, he smiled as the man waved to him. "Ah! Good morning, Steve! Did you get a good night's sleep?" he asked with a laugh.

Steve smiled more and nodded, "Best sleep I've had in a few nights actually."

"That's good. You looked really rough the other day. Glad to see you're looking better." He then noticed Steve looking over his items, a glimmer of excitement bubbling up inside him, "Are you looking for anything particular?"

"A lot of my supplies have begun running low. I usually get my own resources and craft my own items… but I haven't been able to find any good mines in these parts yet." He mused, almost sounding as if to himself, violet eyes still skimming over Melz's wares.

Melz blinked upon Steve's words, "Your own? Mines? Are you… by chance, a miner?"

Steve froze; instantly tensing up as only then did he notice his slip up. Body remained still, only his eyes lifting from the table to glance up at the man, hesitating. He remembered from past villages that miners in certain parts were considered highly valuable... Many things could take place right now-ranging from the villagers bombarding him for help to bring more resources to the town. Or, though he has yet to have this happen, be followed and robbed for any potential goods he could be carrying.

Upon both seeing and sensing the other's tension, Melz laughed with a shake of his head, "Nothing to fear, Steve! We have two of our own miners living in our village! It just amazes me to see someone so… so _young_ being a miner! And you seem very experienced…"

Instant relief washed over him as he relaxed, eyes once more falling to the many items strewn across the table in no particular order. He did, however, take note of a few villagers whispering amongst themselves after it was revealed out loud his occupation, their eyes never once leaving Steve.

Ignoring them for the time being, he spotted an item of interest and was about to ask about it, but before he was able to, a sudden sharp pain stung the back of his head, a low hiss coming from him while rubbing the sore spot where a pebble had struck.

Before he was able to investigate, Melz glared while slamming his hands against the wooden table, his eyes locked onto someone behind Steve. "Hugo! What is the meaning of this!? That was very rude of you, boy!"

Steve turned his body half way to see a young man, not a child like Melz made it out to be. He was younger than himself, probably about late-teens from the looks of him. He looked just like the others, his green eyes set in a hard glare directed at Steve, another pebble tightly clenched in his trembling hand.

Seeming to ignore Melz, Hugo snapped at Steve, "You shouldn't be here."

"Hugo-!" Melz began, but the teen interrupted him, his voice louder.

"You're not welcome here!"

Steve kept his eyes trained on the younger man, soon sighing in annoyance while turning away. "I am just replenishing my stock and then I'll be on my way. I'll be gone by morning. I apologize that my presence is a disturbance."

The teen's glare softened a little, his body relaxing minutely at Steve's calmly spoken words. However, before allowing himself to fall into a sense of security, Hugo tensed up once again, baring his teeth while he growled out, "You should leave NOW! And NOT wait for tomorrow…"

Turning his head to face Hugo once more, Steve just stared at him, his annoyance very evident in his eyes now. After a brief stare down between the two, Steve gave up with a loud sigh through his nose, turning his back fully towards Hugo to face Melz. "I'm sorry. But I don't seem to see what I'm looking for. Thank you." He nodded before turning to leave, giving Hugo a sideways glance of a glare of his own as he walked past the teen.

Hugo watched as Steve made his way back towards the Inn, about to have a triumphant grin spread over his face until Melz yelled at him, his face red with anger, "Boy, what is your problem!? Steve has done no harm to this place nor to any of us! The lot of you needs to get over the past and move on!" he then shouted at everyone around them who had witnessed the entire exchange and yet did nothing.

Hugo simply glared at Melz before turning on his heel and running in the opposite direction Steve had gone in. Turning a corner, he nearly jumped out of his skin when someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

Whipping his head around, he sighed with relief upon seeing a young girl, younger than himself, glaring at him. "Geeze, Kelsa… You nearly killed me!"

She let his arm go in favor now of crossing both her arms over her chest, hardening her glare at him. When he asked what was wrong with her, she scoffed, "Really, Hugo? You seriously just asked me that?"

"Well how else am I supposed to know what's wrong with you?" he tried to defend himself.

"I saw what you did to that traveler." she finally said, earning a wince from the other. When he said nothing more, she sighed, dropping her arms to her sides, "Brother, why? Why did you act that way towards man?"

He glared at the question, turning slightly away from her, "Because he's an outsider, Kelsa. Our parents were killed by one."

"I understand that, Hugo. But that doesn't label every single stranger as bad! Mom and dad would be ashamed if they saw what you did…" she whispered, eyes falling towards the sand at her feet.

Feeling renewed anger rising, Hugo simply huffed at her before walking away, no longer wanting to speak of the matter.

Kelsa watched her brother leave without another word, her lips pulled in a frown as all she could do was whisper his name to the wind.

* * *

A little saddened at the fact that he was more or less driven away from Melz's tent, Steve was at least able to find others willing to trade with him. Though they acted friendly towards him, he was still able to pick up their tension while he was around.

And yet even though they were weary of him… that wasn't about to stop them when he revealed beautifully polished emeralds to use as currency.

At first, he was looking forward to spending some time in this village, like the others, getting to know the people and relaxing before moving on.

But now he really _did_ think he would just pack up and leave by morning. His curiosity about what had transpired with these people was driving him wild. What could have possibly happened for them to act the way they were? Though annoyed, he felt they had their reasons. He wouldn't push or provoke them. Having the name of the village, maybe he could get some info from neighboring towns as to what had happened?

The day took longer than he had originally thought, glancing up to see the sun already beginning to crawl downwards behind the mountains in the distance.

With a yawn and stretch, he packed up his newly traded belongings and headed back towards the Inn, politely brushing off Glorenda when she questioned if he were alright and wished for anything to eat.

Relaxing while organizing his belongings, he gave a quick glance outside to see the sun had already set. He would go to bed soon, but first he needed to repair his damaged armor. Now having the proper materials and correct quantity, he could complete the task. Sitting down at the table, he looked over the broken pieces of his Iron chest plate, frowning while brushing his fingertips across the damage.

Just as he was about to begin his work, a sudden commotion downstairs alerted him. Jumping to his feet, he cracked open his door, leaning against the frame and listened. He was able to make out the voices of Melz, Glorenda and… Hugo?

"Hugo! What happened? What were you doing outside after dark?!" Glorenda's frantic voice carried upstairs. He could hear the deep worry and concern and just imagined her having the poor boy in a death grip.

Hugo's voice, shaky and scared, responded. "K-Kelsa hasn't come home yet. I-I went out looking for her!"

Steve's eyes widened slightly at the absolute horror coating the boy's tone. Whoever this Kelsa was had to be important. Sibling perhaps?

Melz's voice could be heard next, confirming Steve's suspicions, "Hugo, your sister is a smart girl. I'm sure she's found someplace safe to hide."

However, as if just to prove them wrong, a sudden shriek pierced the quiet night sky, alarming everyone and causing Hugo to panic, "KELSA!"

He made for the door, but Melz took hold of his arms, holding him still as he thrashed around.

Without a second thought, Steve approached his bag, reached in and pulled out his Iron sword, a quick glance over its white blade showing it bore very little damage. It would survive a night against the Mobs. He also pulled out three unused torches. Reaching the door, he paused for only a moment, gaze flickering towards his armor for just a fleeting second.

It would be dangerous without the protection of his Iron armor. But he had no time to repair it or enough materials to craft new. Making a dangerous decision, he opened the door and ran downstairs, ignoring the cries of surprise and questions shouted to him as he pushed through the Inn's front door, shivering in the coolness of the night.

Training his ears, he was able to make out a girl crying not far from his current location. He was also able to quickly pick up the shuffling of two zombies approaching him from his right.

Lifting his sword up, he side-stepped out of their reach as they swung for him, bringing his blade up to amputate one of their right arms, before bringing it across the monster's chest, the creature gurgling while falling backwards, no longer moving.

Without hesitating, he quickly brought his sword back around against the second zombie, managing to decapitate it in one swing.

Hearing the girl scream again, Steve lit his first torch while running towards where it was coming from, cursing as when he rounded a corner, he nearly bumped into about half a dozen zombies; all walking towards him.

Holding his sword tightly in his right hand, the torch in his left, he began taking them out one by one, the light from his torch helping to keep the Mobs mostly at bay to enable it as a one-on-one.

Too caught up with the fight on his hands, he failed to notice the skeleton on the rooftop about two houses away-

Taking aim, it released an arrow, the projectile flying silently through the night and making home in Steve's back by his left shoulder blade, earning a cry of pain and surprise from the human, as well as him dropping the torch, the light flickering before dying out against the sand. Eyes stinging, Steve thrust his sword into the chest of the zombie directly before him, pushing until the hilt was pressed flush against the undead's chest. Reaching up with his left hand, he took a firm grip of the torn and dirty material of the zombie's shirt, pulling and holding the creature in place while twisting them around.

With his hold on the front of its shirt and the blade of his sword still embedded within its chest, he held it in place facing the direction the arrow had come in, using the zombie's body as a makeshift shield while slowly walking backwards towards a corner where he could make the skeleton lose its sight on him.

Despite knowing the Mobs cared nothing for each other, a cold chill still ran down his spine upon feeling the zombie jerking in his hold, pushing the creature away from both his blade and himself once safely around the corner and seeing about sixteen arrows sticking out of its back as it fell onto its stomach unmoving.

Shoulder throbbing, he ignored the remaining zombies while running towards where the screaming was still coming from. Turning a corner, he sighed with relief as he saw a young girl looking to be not even in her teens yet running from two zombies. She looked untouched from a distance.

Tightening his hold on his weapon, he ran up to her, reaching out when she tripped on her own feet out of fear. Quickly looking her over for any injuries, he began tugging on her arm, trying to encourage her to her feet and start running.

She was quick to stand and obediently began following, but cried out suddenly and gave a hard tug on Steve's already sore arm. Grunting in pain, he turned to see what had caused her to stop, cursing while seeing three spiders running at them with great speed.

Putting himself between the girl and the Mobs, he held his sword up in a defensive pose, quickly lighting up his second torch before swinging his blade sideways and cutting the first spider's chest open as it lunged at them first, ducking to avoid the second one's jump and impaling the third through its abdomen as it too jumped, lifting it higher in the air before bringing his sword around quickly to the side, the force causing the dead spider's body to slide off the blade and across the sand.

Recovering from its miss, the second spider lunged, managing to tackle Steve to the ground on his stomach, his sword sliding away from his hand.

The girl cried out as she was separated from her savior, tear-stained face becoming covered in sand as the impact also knocked her to the ground. Pushing herself up, she watched with wide eyes as Steve struggled against the hold on him while managing to keep his grip on the torch.

With great difficulty, Steve brought his arm across his throat and dug the burning end of the torch into the spider's many eyes as it reached down to bite at his neck, the creature screeching and rearing back in pain.

Lighting his final torch, Steve pushed himself to his feet only to be tackled back down onto his stomach yet again by a forth spider that had joined in, the girl crying out with Steve as one of the monster's eight legs broke the arrow off, the arrowhead still being embedded in his flesh as another of its legs clawed at his back until it found purchase against the remains of the snapped wood, digging the sharp object even deeper into the man's body.

The injured spider shook itself and hissed, screeching while running up and body slamming into the pinned human, causing the torch to roll away from his hand.

Managing to thrash around enough to allow himself enough space to roll onto his back, Steve groaned while catching the spider that was on top of him by its head and holding it just mere inches away from his face as it snapped at him, the second spider digging it's clawed feet into Steve's beaten body, bruising and cutting his flesh and shredding his clothes.

Blood soon began staining his clothing and smearing on the sound beneath him the more he struggled, the spiders grinding him into the ground causing the sand's sharpness to slice his skin even further.

Feeling his strength quickly leaving him, Steve attempted to bring his right leg against his chest to press his foot against the spider to kick it off, but just as he was nearly in position, the second creature saw the movement and grabbed his ankle, yanking on his leg hard and holding it down, it's claws biting into his body.

The girl whimpered at the pain filled cry that came from Steve at the spider's motion, her green tear-filled eyes soon falling on the barely lit torch not far from her.

With jittery movements, she crawled over to it, taking it up in trembling hands and holding it out in front of her. The instant it was lifted from the ground, life came back to it, lighting up the entire area.

With a terror-filled war cry, she ran at Steve, swinging the torch back and forth with as much strength as she could muster, the flame hissing in the air.

Steve gasped as the spiders suddenly jumped away from him, hissing while stepping away from the girl and offending light. Feeling a small amount of courage warming her, she stood by Steve's side, keeping the torch trained on the Mobs.

Taking advantage of the moment, Steve pushed himself to his feet, jumping for his sword and bringing it up just in time as the spider he had already injured with the second torch jumped at the girl, cutting it down out of the air.

Body battered and beaten, Steve held his sword while grabbing the girl's shoulder, pulling her closer against his leg in a last ditch effort to protect her. His breaths were ragged and labored as he stood his ground, slightly surprised to see the remaining spider retreating.

About to sigh in relief, the instant that all too familiar _hssss _reached his ears; his blood ran cold. Without hesitation or any thought of his own well-being, he scooped the girl up in his arms, sprinting to the best of his abilities just before the Creeper had gotten close enough to detonate itself.

The creature took to following them, however was unable to keep up due to its short legs.

Releasing a shaky breath, he collapsed against the side of a house with a low grunt of pain, allowing the girl to slowly slide down his front from his arms and land feet first on the ground. He frowned as some of his blood smeared off onto her tan colored dress and a little on her right cheek bone, but at least she was safe and unharmed.

Though still unfamiliar with this village, he was able to make out Melz's Inn close by, pushing himself away from the wall and taking the girl's hand into his own, he led her towards the Inn with a heavy limp to his steps, managing to avoid any more Mobs.

As soon as they reached the door however, a few straggler zombies approached, earning a tired sigh of annoyance from Steve as he released the girl's hand and held his sword up, the weapon unsteady in his weakened grasp. "You Kelsa…?" he breathed, tone low and quivering slightly from pain.

The girl blinked while jumping, soon speaking a very timid yes accompanied with a small nod.

Swallowing thickly, Steve sighed, "Your brother… is worried about you. He's inside…"

"Hugo?" she asked, eyes tearing up once again as the zombies neared them.

Steve nodded, holding his sword up higher. "Listen. I want you… to tell him…. I'm sorry for upsetting him so much. I… I never meant any harm by coming here. Tell him… I'm leaving… now… I won't wait until the morning."

Kelsa gasped, taking a firm hold of the hem of his dirtied blue shirt, "B-but you're badly hurt, Mister."

He ignored her. "Do me a favor. Second floor… third… third door on the right. It's unlocked. Go inside, gather the stuff on the table into the brown bag next to it… and bring it just outside the door. Can you do that… for me, Kelsa?"

Wanting to argue more, the fear of the zombies closing in on them made her nod her head instead; running towards the door the instant Steve shoved her away with a shouted "Go!"

She ignored everyone's outbursts and dashed up the stairs, busting through the door he described being his. Seeing the strange looking items on the table, she found the bag he explained to her and shoved everything unceremoniously inside, grunting at the weight as she began dragging it out the hall and down the stairs.

Glorenda seized the girl and held her up, "Kelsa! Child are you alright?! Oh, my Notch… Melz! There's blood!" she cried, holding a struggling Kelsa against her chest.

"Kelsa!" Hugo cried, taking his sister's hand into his own and squeezing, "A-are you alright?! I'm-I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you!" he began crying, heart breaking as Kelsa tried to free herself from both him and Glorenda.

Melz approached with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. Kneeling before the girl, he gently began cleaning away the blood and was expecting to see deep gashes and horrible scratches. Surprise and confusion bounced back and forth across his face at discovering absolutely no injuries anywhere on her small body. "This blood- It's… it's not hers..." Green gaze then trailing down and to his left, he raised a brow. Seeing the bag that belonged to Steve on the ground, he turned to the girl once again, a serious look on his face. "Kelsa… where were you taking this bag? It doesn't belong to you."

Hugo spotted Steve's bag and glared, running over to it and kicking it hard, falling to his knees and beginning to tear into it, ripping one end of the strap off in his haste to open it.

"Hugo!?" Melz shouted, running over and grabbing the boy by his shoulders and yanking him away from the now damaged bag roughly. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"There _must_ be something in there that has attracted the Mobs! We've _never _had this kind of attack before! They had to have followed him! That traveler brought them to us!" he yelled, pure loathing coating his tone heavily.

It was at this Kelsa spoke up, managing to free herself from Glorenda's grasp, "No, Hugo! Stop! He asked me to bring it and set it right outside the door! He came out looking for me and saved me from the monsters!"

Everyone gasped, staring at the girl as she gathered everything back into the bag and proceeded to drag it to the door, pure determination on her features. "He… he needs it. He's hurt so badly." she grunted.

Both adults gasped before Melz took a firm hold of Kelsa's shoulder, "Kelsa! This blood… where did this blood that got all over you come from?!"

New tears began falling from her eyes as she struggled, "He's hurt!"

As the dawning realization began settling in on just **who** was hurt and putting two and two together to figure out where the blood had come from, Melz released the girl and stood to his feet. "Oh no…" he whispered under his breath while quickly moving over towards the front desk, reaching over the flat surface and feeling around for the hilt of his stone sword, cursing as he was unable to find it.

As if unable to believe even the words of his own sister, Hugo glared, bolting for the door and throwing it open with a growl. Eyes grew wide in pure shock as he watched the traveler drive a white sword stained red into the chest of a zombie, before drawing it back by twisting his body to face behind him, bringing the weapon around almost fluently to smack a spider down mid-jump. He remained frozen in place, even after Kelsa pushed past him with the heavy bag.

Dragging it down the three steps from the Inn's doorway to the ground, she stopped, panting from the effort of bringing it to him and called out, "Hey, Mister!"

Steve paused; a quick glance had him finding Kelsa outside with his bag. "Thank you, Kelsa… Now get back inside and wait until morning!" he shouted, striking down another zombie that tried to grab him from behind.

Before Kelsa could respond, she was roughly dragged back inside by Melz before the man reappeared, gasping upon seeing Steve's poor condition. "Steve! Get inside, boy! Hurry!" he waved his arm to him, desperately beckoning him to come.

But Steve shook his head, reaching for his bag and cursing to find the strap was broken. That was going to make it harder to carry until he could fix it.

Lifting it up and throwing it over his shoulder without thinking, he let out a yelp of pain as the bag smacked into his wound caused by the still embedded arrowhead.

The others flinched at his cry; even Hugo.

Straightening himself upright, one eye closed in concentration, Steve hissed out to them, "Listen. Go back inside. Have as much light as possible… it… it keeps them at bay."

"What are you going to do?!" Melz shouted angrily, managing to finally drag a still shocked Hugo back into the house.

Steve hesitated for a second, looking over his bleeding shoulder to see more zombies approaching. "I'll lure them away… Th-they'll follow me… out of town. I want to thank you… for all your kindness." He groaned, forcing a weak smile while turning away, calling out to the Mobs and gaining their interest.

"STEVE!" Melz cried out, but he was already gone behind a corner, the Mob following close behind him.

To Be Continued….

* * *

_AN: I'm So sorry for the cliff hanger! D,: And I hate to say it... but you can expect a lot of horrible, horrible cliffies in this story.  
_


	3. Chapter 3 - The Rescue

[CHAPTER III]

[The Rescue]

* * *

"W-where are you going?" Hugo managed to squeak out while watching Melz opening a door that led into the back of the Inn.

Inside was large and looked like a storage room of sorts. Boxes lined the walls from floor to ceiling for the first half of the room while the second half was built into a stable, a large carriage used to move Melz's trading post from village to village when he was younger was sitting in a corner gathering dust and sand. Near the end of the room were four horses, snorting with quick shakes of their heads in greeting upon seeing their owner.

Getting two saddles off from a fence, Melz spoke while prepping two of the horses. "I'm going out to find Steve and bring him back here. He was in NO condition to be leaving town… especially at night with this many Mobs out."

"**What**? Are you _crazy_? It's dangerous outside! Besides… the fool's probably already dea-!" The sharp sound of flesh slapping flesh startled the horses while the stinging to Hugo's reddening cheek shut him up instantly.

Pointing his finger directly in Hugo's face to insure he had the teen's full attention, Melz spoke in a low tone. One Hugo knew he was better off remaining silent. "_You_ are going _with_ me. You have been _nothing_ but an ungrateful and rude _child_ to that man. He _saved_ your _sister_! You saw the wounds he received at the cost to rescue her! Had he not been here, those injuries would have been inflicted onto _her _in his place! She would be **dead** right now if Steve hadn't been here to save her!" He shouted, tone growing angrier and angrier with each sentence.

Whether it came from fear of the man's rage, or Melz managing to actually open Hugo's eyes and wake the teen up to reality was unclear. But Hugo took the spare saddle from the other without a word, turning towards the horse he was to ride and preparing the steed himself.

Nothing else was said save the two girls pleading them to be safe as they spurred the horses, running out into the night with cries from both steeds.

* * *

Exhaustion was weighing heavily upon Steve now as he approached what he feared was a cliff.

His heart sank painfully upon reaching the edge, the light from his torch revealing his fears to be horribly correct… and looked to be about a steep three hundred-plus drop. He could see there was water below, but was unsure of how deep it was, and was certain his weak and injured body would not survive the fall.

He then looked down both directions quickly, cursing as he found the cavern too wide to go around and the ground too far split apart to attempt to jump it.

His plan was to simply lure the Mobs away from the village far enough for the town to be safe, lose them and then build a temporary shelter to spend the remainder of the night treating his wounds and healing.

However, because of the extent of his injuries and the broken strap to his bag slowing him down, he was barely able to stay out of their reach, picking up more and more straggler Mobs the further out he ventured.

And now he was cornered.

Allowing the bag to drop with a _thud_, he slowly turned his back to the cliff, facing his attackers head on as they all gathered around him slowly. He tried to lift his iron sword in the offense, the blade chipped and cracking from the extensive usage, just barely on the verge of breaking.

The weapon weighed even more to him now in his tired state, his arm soon dropping and the tip of the blade digging into the sand. A weak chuckle came from him as he stared at them all through half lidded eyes. He grinned at the monsters, shoulders slumping slightly despite his attempt to enter in a defensive stance instead, "You know what? I'm feeling awfully generous tonight… I'll allow you to go first…"

None of the creatures made a move at first, as if unsure whether or not to approach him. Before long, one of the skeletons decided to be cheap and attempt to pick him off from a distance, pulling an arrow out and taking aim.

Steve saw the move, but was too weak to actually register it. Not until it was too late and he was crying out in pain, stumbling backwards a few steps closer to the cliff while dropping both his sword and torch. Freed from the weight of the weapon, his right hand carefully cupped the new injury around the arrow that had struck the front of his left shoulder, just below his collarbone.

His balance was becoming unstable, causing him to have a difficult time standing still, his feet constantly shuffling in an attempt to remain upright; his right foot eventually accidentally kicking the still lit torch over the edge of the cliff to fall hundreds of feet below, the entire area becoming swallowed by darkness.

His last line of protection gone.

Upon seeing his sluggish reaction time, and the cursed light source now gone, the group of Mobs began slowly advancing towards Steve, no longer weary for their safety.

Still focusing on the arrow sticking out of him, he didn't even acknowledge the immediate danger he was in as the monsters closed in on him. His attention wasn't taken from his newest wound until the sudden shrill cries of horses reached his ears, as well as people shouting out.

Brain far beyond processing his surroundings, Steve took a few steps back, the stress his body was undergoing and the lack of decent lighting as the crescent moon's light did little to aid his blurring vision began making him hallucinate and believe these creatures were just more Mobs wanting their first dibs on him. He nearly lost his balance when his foot slipped off the edge, looking over his shoulder for a brief moment.

He narrowed his eyes.

He wouldn't end this way...

He would _fight_!

Eyes skimmed the surface of the ground for his sword, blurry vision soon locating it upon spotting a glimmer via the blade reflecting the moon. The weapon was way too heavy to lift and too damaged to be of any use now, causing him to curse loudly while turning towards his bag instead.

Reaching inside, he took out another torch, lighting it with some difficulties and holding it up high. The Mobs around him all hissed and withdrew, though the two newest ones remained bathed in the light.

It was then that Steve saw it was Melz and Hugo. Anger filled him instantly as he glared. "_What_ are you two doing _outside_?!" he shouted, his tone sounding anything but threatening as his voice cracked. "I told you... to stay indoors until the morning!"

Melz jumped from his horse and took Steve by the arm without saying a word, minding his injuries to the best of his abilities while urging him hurriedly to move, steering the younger man towards Hugo's horse, the teen holding a very unsure look on his face but remained silent.

Taking the torch from Steve, Melz helped him mount Hugo's horse, ignoring the miner's questions and protests. The teen made a face while ensuring the other didn't fall off the other side, wanting nothing more than for them to hurry up so they could return back to the village and get this night over with.

After making sure they were secure, Melz went back and retrieved Steve's bag, hoisting it over his shoulder and quickly climbing back on top his horse. "Let's go, Hugo!" he shouted, spurring his horse to encourage a fast gallop, Hugo and Steve close behind.

Fading in and out of consciousness quickly, Steve was only half aware of what was happening around them, managing to catch a few words from Hugo about the Mobs following. Without much thought, Steve reached for his pocket, faintly remembering stuffing a spare torch there for quick access. Holding it up to the teen, he spoke weakly; "L-light it. Light… keeps them… at bay…"

"You saved my sister. But that does not earn you the right to my trust." Hugo spat down to him in a low growl so Melz could not hear.

Steve frowned, feeling a painful stab in his chest at this young teen loathing him so much. He has done nothing to him, so he couldn't understand why he hated him.

His arm grew tired and heavy, trembling from the effort to keep it held up. So he allowed it to fall against his chest limply, the numbness that was beginning to settle in and taking over his body had him feeling no pain, the torch barely held in his weakened grasp. "I'm sorry…" he breathed before closing his eyes, no longer possessing the strength to keep them open.

Hugo looked down at the man in his arms when he thought he heard him say something, a small panic beginning to rise upon feeling him suddenly become dead weight and unresponsive in his hold.

He had not seen a dead person… Not since his parents-

Eyes growing wide in building anxiety, Hugo stuttered as his throat tightened up greatly, "Uhhh… M-Melz…?"

"Focus Hugo! We're almost home!" Melz cried out behind him, soon gasping upon seeing two spiders running up to Hugo's horse from the. "Hugo! To your left!" he warned, though was unsure what the teen could do to defend them.

Whipping his head to the side, Hugo cried out just as one of the spiders jumped right at them. Panic and adrenaline fueling his motions, Hugo took the unlit torch from Steve's chilled hand, lighting it and holding it at the spider just before it landed on them.

It shrieked, flailing mid-jump and hitting instead the muscular back side of the horse, causing it to cry out and speed up while trampling the Mob to death.

Watching the rolling body of the spider come to a halt before turning to look at the fire, Hugo then blinked down at Steve in disbelief. _He… he was right about the light and the Mobs…._

The Mobs fell back from their pursuit, no longer seeming as interested as they were before just as they were about to reach the village. Having the light from the torch now, Hugo felt a sickness flood him upon seeing Steve's condition, his skin paling and growing colder with each passing second. His head rolled lifelessly in the crook of his right elbow with the motions of the horse's galloping, lips parted and losing color at an alarming rate.

Steve's appearance triggered painful flashbacks of the deaths of both his parents, causing him to whimper while shutting his eyes tightly in an attempt to block the visions out.

They guessed that their sudden departure into the Mob filled night had alerted the entire village, because nearly every villager was standing outside with weapons drawn and torches lit to light the way.

Slowing their steeds to a halt, Melz jumped off first, running over to help three other men gently take Steve from Hugo.

"Melz… What happened?" one of them gasped, his voice hushed while carefully lying Steve down on the ground.

"Hugo came to us. He said Kelsa hadn't returned home. Steve must've overheard our conversation and armed himself with an iron sword and went into the night." He began explaining while gently placing Steve's arms at his sides. Leaning over his chest, he paused to see if there was any sign of movement before continuing. "He found Kelsa and protected her. These injuries are the prices he paid in exchange for her safety. He brought her back to the Inn, and fought off more of the monsters that were outside…" he paused in his explanation to carefully press his ear against Steve's still chest, minding the arrow that was still present in his shoulder.

"Then why did you come from _outside_ the village?" another asked, her tone antsy as she observed from over Melz's shoulder.

Melz hesitated for a second before answering in a low whisper. "He was luring the Mobs away from our village. Glorenda told me that when he returned to the inn after the little stunt Hugo pulled off today that he was going to be leaving first thing in the morning since he felt his presence was making everyone here upset and uneasy. The lot of you made him feel unwanted…" he then nearly growled in anger at the villagers crowding around them. "What I think happened is he probably figured he would be leaving anyways… he wanted to try and aid us while doing so. This man is a kind person… _n__othing_ like the one who attacked us all those years ago." He was silent after that for a few long moments.

Everyone waited anxiously for Melz to say something as they all looked around at one another, each passing the same look of growing guilt in their green eyes at Melz's harsh but truthful words towards them. The Vendor soon gasped while sitting back upright, "His heart still beats! But very weakly."

"We must take him to the village Elder then. Only _he_ can heal these kinds of wounds, Melz!" One of the three men that had helped Melz whispered quickly, already preparing to carry Steve to the house.

With a nod of agreement from Melz, the others carefully lifted him, minding all his injuries and carried him towards the house where their village Elder resided.

All the while Hugo had remained atop his horse, the entire conversation deaf to him as he sat, eyes wide and staring at his hands and the front of his clothes.

Steve's blood covered him.

His body began to tremble, breathing picking up as hyperventilation began over taking him. Kelsa's soft and quiet voice caused an instant wave of calmness to wash over and sooth him when she whispered his name in question, green eyes looking down to see his scared sister looking up at him, sadness filling her eyes.

Managing to regain himself, he carefully climbed down from the saddle, taking his sister into a tight embrace and tenderly shushing her, mind too numb to register the fact he was dirtying her.

Glorenda approached the two, a sad smile on her face while placing her hands on their shoulders, "Come children… it's late. Let's get you both washed up and changed."

They both nodded and followed her back towards the Inn, Hugo looking over his shoulder with the faintest hint of concern flashing in his eyes as his gaze fell upon the villagers carefully carrying Steve's unconscious body towards where their Elder resided.

* * *

One of the many villagers that had accompanied the four carrying Steve to the Elder went ahead of the group, and began frantically pounding his fist against the age-worn wooden door. "Village Elder. Village Elder? Please come quick." He called through the door urgently.

It did not take long for the door to creak open, a man who looked like the others, though much older than any of the other villagers was soon standing in the doorway, his hair as white as the snow with a matching braided bead that reached past his chest. "Candreal? What has happened?" he asked, his voice horse and scratchy. His age could be heard in it.

The man named Candreal took deep breaths to calm himself, "The other day, a visitor had stopped by. Tonight he became gravely injured by the Mobs while seeking out and protecting Kelsa when she was caught by the monsters." he informed, the village Elder's greying eyes widening slightly at this knowledge.

Slowly nodding his head, he looked past Candreal and towards the others as they slowly approached the front of the house, "I see. Bring this stranger to me." He said calmly.

Melz and the three other men brought Steve before the village Elder, the man's eyes growing even wider as a gasp slipped from him upon seeing his condition as the light that leaked out of his house flooded over the young miner's body. He then stood to the side, beckoning them in with his arm. "Come. Come. Bring him inside and lay him on the bed in the next room. The rest of you… please return to your homes until the sun rises. The Mobs are still free to roam and I sadly do not have enough space to house everyone. You will all learn of his outcome by morning."

Quiet murmurs arose from the crowd but everyone did as told, leaving to return to their own homes to retire for the night.

Reentering his own home, he approached the four men just as they got Steve down on the bed comfortably. "I will tend to his wounds. Please. You four return to your families."

"Do you not need help, village Elder?" one asked softly.

The Elder chuckled while waving him off, "Nonsense. I've tended to every single villager in this town. With wounds far worse than these. I will be fine. And I feel our new friend here will be as well." He looked down at Steve, sadness filing him upon seeing what those monsters did to the man. His eyes then narrowed slightly as a small realization dawned on him, "This man has no evil in him whatsoever… the Mobs despise this rare and pure trait and so took their hatred out on him so aggressively." He spoke in a low tone, turning to walk towards the large kitchen where he began gathering everything he would need to treat him.

Melz walked up behind him while the other three left after giving their thanks. "Village Elder…?" he asked after a moment's hesitation.

A soft chuckle shook the elderly man's thin shoulders before he turned to face the other, "He will be fine, Melz. Though on the brink of death, I can call him back. I feel Notch is not yet ready to have this man join him in the Aether just yet." He smiled under his beard before turning back to face his work once more. "I feel this man was brought to us for a reason. Call it fate or whatever you wish… he has a purpose within our village."

Melz felt a little more reassurance upon seeing the barely visible smile on the Elder's aging face. Watching him carry a wooden bowl over towards the bed, Melz cleared his throat, "A… purpose?"

"It's nothing, Melz. Just an old man rambling to himself." he chuckled. He remained silent for a moment after that while settling down on a small wooden stool right next to the bed Steve was resting on. When he at last spoke again, his tone was gentle and soft, "Tell me, Melz. What is our new friend's name?"

Walking up to be next to the Elder, he watched for a moment before answering, observing the older man carefully slipping his right arm underneath Steve's head and lifting him up, his left hand tenderly bringing the rim of the wooden bowl to the other's slightly parted lips.

Sighing while relaxing upon seeing Steve actually _respond_ to the contents of the bowl by consuming them, he cleared his throat again. "His name is Steve."

A chuckle and wider smile came to the Elder as he carefully laid Steve's head back down on the pillow after finishing the potion, leaning back and setting the now empty bowl down on the table to his right. "Well, then… We have a lot to thank Steve for. He will recover over time. But I cannot guarantee he will awaken tomorrow. It may take a full day or two until he has regained the energy to awaken. His body needs a lot of time to recover…" He whispered while pushing himself slowly to his feet, his aging body aching from the motion.

"I am just relieved he will be alright." Melz sighed.

Another chuckle came from the Elder as he patted his shoulder. "Go back to Glorenda. I am sure she is very worried and curious as to what has happened tonight. Tell her everything will be fine. Steve is safe and recovering now…" As he spoke the last sentence, he turned to face the wounded man, his smile telling Melz to look to him as well.

Sure enough, the color had already begun returning to Steve's body, no longer being a ghostly pale. His flesh was tanned once against and was radiating normal body heat as well. The very evident and steady rise and fall of Steve's chest is what really caused Melz to be hit with a heavy wave of calmness and relief.

"Get some rest, Melz. It has been a long night for everyone."

"Thank you. For everything, village Elder." Melz said with a bow of his head before turning to leave, giving Steve one more look before leaving for the Inn.

After Melz left, the Elder returned to the kitchen for more supplies before being by Steve's side once more. Taking a seat on the stool yet again, the Elder smiled sadly while placing a wrinkled hand to Steve's forehead. "I apologize, Steve, for any pain I may bring upon you. I must clean your injuries and dress your wounds." he whispered softly before taking his hand back.

He knew he had a long night ahead of him as he began cutting away the ruined clothing to expose the mess beneath, humming a small tune to himself to help drown out the sounds of the Mobs returning to the village as he got to work on treating Steve.

To Be Continued…

* * *

A/N: So sorry for the horrible lack for updates! Just moved into our new apartment and took FOREVER to get the time to get our own internet connection installed! The withdrawals from the precious internet were not kind... ;u;


	4. Chapter 4 - Haunted Past

[CHAPTER IV]

[Haunted Past]

* * *

It was needless to say the entire village of Sanderlorum did not sleep during the night. The people were too anxious to know the condition of the man they had all mistreated so horribly and yet still went out of his way and put his life gravely in danger to save the life of one little girl…

Melz's words had hit everyone hard upon their return. And seeing the physical condition of the visitor as they lowered him from the horse and carried him towards their Village Elder's home only doubled their guilt and worry, consciences and nerves piling more and more guilt and grief as many pairs of vibrant green eyes peered from the glass windows of the many homes and spotted the visible trail of red liquid staining the yellow sand and grey gravel that was left behind as Steve continued to bleed out from his wounds.

Not everyone had really intended to make Steve feel the way he ended up feeling, the memories and scars from the past causing the people to act the way they did towards the man almost automatically.

So that explained why the moment the zombies and skeletons that were among the night walkers burst into flames to signal the safe rise of the sun, doors flew open and villagers flocked towards the Elder's residence with great haste.

He, himself, had a long and sleepless night. Steve's injuries were far more extensive than he had originally thought at first glance, and had begun to think he would lose him a couple of times throughout the night as his condition would suddenly take a turn for the worst.

But Steve proved his strength and will to survive and pulled through, now merely appearing to be sleeping rather than barely breathing and clinging desperately to life.

The Village Elder insisted everyone continue with their day as normal, explaining to them that Steve would not be awakening any time soon and reassured that they would all know the moment he did awoke.

However when he saw Melz, he waved him over, asking for him to stop by later that evening. And by the time the sun began setting; Melz had already packed his wares up and was standing before the Village Elder.

"I apologize for asking you to visit this late into the evening. But I am glad you came by, Melz." the Elder began, standing to the side and allowing him inside.

Before anything else was said, a voice stopped them, both men turning towards the pathway to see both Hugo and Kelsa waiting.

"We want to see him… please." Kelsa plead softly, taking her brother's hand into her own.

And before anything could be said to the children, Glorenda's voice came to them, "There you two are! You had me worried when you two took off suddenly after Melz." she gasped, trying to catch her breath. She had clearly been running after them.

Looking out to see Mobs already showing up in the distance and heading towards their village, the Elder sighed; "It is too late to send you off. Come inside. Hurry." he beckoned them all in. Once everyone was safely indoors, he locked and sealed it before motioning them all to follow him into the room where Steve had been taken into.

The young miner was in the same bed, but looked much better than last night. All traces of blood and sand had been tenderly cleaned away. All cuts and scratches had been cleaned and treated. The two arrowhead wounds had to be deeply disinfected and sutured.

Everyone signed with relief upon seeing his condition save for Hugo, managing to keep a pensive expression as he remained silent and stood behind the adults.

"I called you here, Melz… because I was curious about this man's past. And… I think you should see what I have found." the Elder began while taking his seat on the stool.

The others all gathered around Steve's prone body, watching as the Elder placed his palm on Steve's forehead, mumbling something under his breath while slowly making a first as if grabbing something. Pulling his fist away from Steve, a grey haze followed, earning surprised gasps from the other four.

Taking the haze into both hands, the Elder whispered something into it before releasing it into the air right above Steve with a gentle blow of air, the cloud expanding until suddenly a blue mist began rolling around inside.

"Though not everything has been made clear to me yet, it is very clear to me that this man has a very dark and painful past. He wanders from biome to biome… simply because he has no home anywhere here on this massive land." the Elder began, waving his hands before the mist until an image of the ocean appeared. A large ship could be seen sailing the calm waters as the men and women on board laughed and cheered, enjoying each other's company and the warmth of the brightly shining sun high above them. But then suddenly, the image flashed, and now the ship could be barely seen through the merciless storm that haunted that night.

Everyone, including Hugo leaned in closer to see the people aboard the vessel trying in vain to keep the ship under control as the wash continued to crash against her haul with no mercy, the lightning flashing across the sky showing brief glimpses of the ship taking on water.

"The storm prevented them from seeing…" the Elder continued, swiping his left hand before the mist as if to change the scene. Sure enough, a new image appeared. He brought the view closer, revealing the crew under attack from not only the storm, but a hoard of Mobs.

Hugo spoke first after gasping. "What? Hold on… Those are skeletons that are attacking them!" he pointed out.

"But they're black. And fighting with swords." Melz also pointed out.

The Elder nodded, "Yes. They are skeletons… but of a different realm. These ones are much stronger and more ruthless than the ones here in the Overworld that roam during the night." he explained.

"What are they?" Glorenda asked quietly.

The Elder sighed while waving his hand again, changing the scene. "Wither skeleton. From the Nether…"

Hugo shook his head while snorting, "Impossible. They're only a myth!"

"A myth proven fact, I am afraid child." He gave a sideways glance to the teen.

Kelsa whimpered while huddling closer to Glorenda, "Does that mean all myths are real…?"

A reassuring smile was given to the girl from the Elder, "No, my child. Not necessarily."

Melz narrowed his eyes, lifting his gaze to look up at their Elder. "This… this can't be possible."

"You are agreeing with Hugo, Melz?" the Elder asked with a raise of his brow.

However Melz shook his head. "No, I'm not. I do not doubt their existence. What I _do_ doubt is their appearance. The legends all say they were banished into the Nether after the fall of the Wither itself almost a thousand years ago. So how are they able to leave? Especially when the Nether was completely sealed off after Notch banished He—" Melz choked suddenly as his eyes grew wide, everyone staring at him in shock at what he was about to say.

Swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat, he shook his head. "The point is the Nether is sealed. So how were they able to attack them?"

"I do not want to think of it… but perhaps they have found a small leak somewhere? I am unsure of how they managed to appear after so many years later." the Elder answered.

The scene then changed and revealed a man fighting off one of the Wither skeletons rather impressively. Everyone soon gasped as they recognized the man to be Steve. Melz was the first to speak after the realization, his voice hushed and full of disbelief, "Steve is from another land…"

The Elder nodded, yet again waving his hand to change the scene. "The storm did not allow them to see the beaches of this land. They drew too close… allowing the Mobs the range needed to board their vessel." The newest scene showed Steve running towards the back of the ship, fighting off the many Wither skeletons that stood in his path and avoiding the fires that had broken out all around him. However strong he was, the one he was currently in a sword fight with managed to not only block his attack, but also deliver a powerful enough counterattack that sent Steve over the railing to plummet into the cold black waters below.

"No, Steve!" Kelsa cried out.

Melz cursed, hands balling into fists at witnessing the cruel treatment while Glorenda gasped and hugged Kelsa closely. Hugo glared at the image… but focusing his rising anger at the monsters. _Not_ at Steve…

Breaking the surface, they all watched as he began swimming after the burning ship, the same determination they saw on his face while leaving the Inn in search of Kelsa.

Another wave changed the scene before them: Steve had managed to get back on board just as a girl screamed. Whipping around to look behind him, they saw what Steve saw; a girl, older than Hugo with blue eyes and shoulder length blonde hair wearing a white tunic over tan colored capris and black sandals backing away from one of the Wither skeletons, the creature slowly raising its sword in the air.

Rage filled Steve as he yelled out, running up the stairs to reach the top.

As this particular scene progressed, Steve's physical being began responding as if having a nightmare; brows furrowing together while moaning slightly, head rolling from side to side as sweat began to break out across his forehead and temples.

They all watched as Steve reached the top, lifting his sword up and charging at the Wither skeleton that held its own sword high. Just as they thought Steve was going to make it and block the monster's attack, he screamed out; "Don't you _dare_ touch my sister, you monster!"

Eyes widened at his words, shock filling the silence upon finding out Steve had a sibling. However, Glorenda pulled Kelsa away from the image and hid her face in her chest just as the Wither skeleton thrust its sword forwards, impaling the girl Steve was trying to save straight through her heart.

"Noooo!" Steve cried out both in the memory and in the room, causing everyone save the Elder to jump, swinging his sword and beheading the skeleton in one clean sweep. Just as he fell by the dying girl's side, he was grabbed painfully by his throat and lifted away from her, his vision fading in and out as he held his hand out to her as he was dragged away from her body.

She was lying on her back, her face towards him and eyes half lidded and void of life. Her lips were parted and blood leaked steadily from the corner of her mouth, her blond hair and white tunic darkening in color as they absorbed her blood as it pooled around her body.

"G-Gene-vieve." he choked out. Suddenly, he was thrown from the ship, hitting the water painfully and too far away to swim back.

Breaking the surface once more, Steve began futilely swimming towards the ship. Though none could be seen as they blend in with the ocean, they could tell Steve was crying as he swam, pushing his tired and exhausted body to its limit, pleading for everyone to be alright. Promising he would make it back to help them all. _Swearing_ that they would all be safe.

And just when Steve actually began to think he was going to catch up with the ship, a large explosion finished it off, the screams of everyone on board no longer filling the night sky.

The only screams that could be heard were Steve's…

Responding to the memory played out as a nightmare, Steve cried out while thrashing, startling everyone once again but the Elder, who calmly leaned forward and used both his hands to blow away the image of the sinking ship. The last image to be revealed before the haze dissipated completely was of Steve face down in the sand on a beach, his clothes and hair dry from being underneath the sun high above him. A village they all knew could be seen off in the near distance.

Placing his hand back against Steve's forehead, the man instantly stilled and calmed upon a hushed murmur being whispered to him.

Leaning back and removing his hand, the Elder sighed while lifting his gaze to those around him. "Steve is not to know of what has transpired here this evening. Understand?" He looked down to the children, his sentence mainly directed towards them.

However, all four nodded.

Kelsa slowly pulled herself away from Glorenda's chest while the woman gently combed her hair, tears in her eyes as she sniffled. She was unable to see whatever was shown… but she was still able to _hear_ it all.

Pushing himself slowly to his feet, he asked if anyone wished for a drink. Melz and Glorenda asked for water, while Kelsa asked for juice.

Hugo wished for nothing, but the Elder requested his help with preparing and bringing the beverages out. With no argument, Hugo followed him into the kitchen.

At first, nothing was said between the two, until the Elder finished pouring Kelsa's juice. "At first, I did not think it wise to allow you kids to view Steve's past." he began, instantly grabbing Hugo's attention. The teen looked up at him, green eyes narrowed in question.

The Elder paused before continuing, turning to show a smile on his face hidden beneath his beard, "But now I am glad _you_ got to witness it."

"Why is that, Elder?" he asked a little defensively.

"Because it allowed you to see Steve is not what you fear him to be. I understand you are still hurt by what happened… and it is understandable why you wish to not allow anyone in. But Hugo, you mustn't let the act of one evil man make you force others away. You, and many others here have locked yourselves up and are not only keeping the bad out… but you are also forcing the good away as well." he spoke softly, taking the two water cups in hand and waiting for Hugo to take up Kelsa's beverage.

After picking up the cup, Hugo stared into its green contents, his reflection glaring back.

The Elder walked past him, but paused just beyond the doorway, not turning to look back at the teen. "I am sure over time you will become kind to him. He has suffered far more… but you and Steve rather have much in common, and you could learn a thing or two from—"

Hugo growled, snapping his head up to glare hard at the back of the older man's head while interrupting him. "Oh really? Like _what_, exactly?!"

"The pain."

He spoke it as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world to the teen, furthering his anger even more. "The _pain_!? What would _he_ be able to understand!? And just _how_ has he suffered _more_!? And _what_ could I possibly learn from _him_!?" he seethed, jaw clenched. He didn't care if the others could hear him by now in the next room.

He didn't even care if he caused Steve to wake.

Nothing was said for a few intense seconds until finally, the Elder took in a deep breath through his nose, answering Hugo without bothering to face him. "The pain of loss, Hugo. And Steve has endured more because—while yes, you lost both your parents tragically, _you_ still have Kelsa, your friends and this entire village. Whereas Steve? He has nothing. He lost everyone that night. His friends and family were all killed right before him… And he blames no one but himself, carrying the weight of his guilt that he was unable to save anyone. He was left behind and washed up on a land far different from his own. He is alone, Hugo. With no place to go." he paused and turned his head slightly over his right shoulder, just enough to give a sideways glance to the teen. "And yet he walks forward with his head held high. Kindness still flows forth from him and unto every person he meets despite the heavy pain that still weighs his heart down. He still puts everyone else's needs first before his own, hiding his tragic past behind his kind smile. There is a lesson this whole village could learn. Hugo. Your tragedy happened _years_ ago. Steve's was but only just a few months ago. In fact, the night of that horrid storm that covered the entire Overworld to be precise. The people here need to see that despite the pain… it _is_ possible to continue living your life and not become a helpless, self-pitying and untrusting fool." he finished and then immediately left, leaving Hugo alone in the kitchen to allow the teen to think about what he had just been told.

The teen just stared at the spot where the old man was standing just moments ago, before lowering his glare back into the cup. The liquid wasn't what he was focusing the look at. But rather… the reflection.

"Stupid…" he whispered to himself.

* * *

Just as the Elder was about to go and bring Kelsa a new cup since it appeared Hugo wasn't going to be joining them again anytime soon, the teen slowly entered the room. No one said anything to him for a moment as they eyed him.

He kept his head hung low, eyes no longer baring a glare as he stared at the wooden floor boards, Kelsa's drink beginning to shaking in his trembling hands.

Just as Glorenda was about to ask if the teen was alright, he lifted his head, earning surprised gasps from all but the Elder.

Hugo's cheeks were tear-stained while his eyes were red and irritated. He parted his lips to say something, but words evaded him at first. Swallowing thickly, he tried again, his voice cracking as he whispered out, eyes trailing from each conscious person in the room, "I'm sorry…"

The Elder smiled with a small nod while clearing his throat quietly. "It is not _us_ you should be apologizing to, Hugo…"

The teen looked to the old man, eyes wide and showing slight confusion. However, the Elder was quick to pick up on it, so while keeping his same warm smile, he gently nodded his head in the direction opposite him.

Hugo blinked, head slowly turning towards where the Elder had motioned, his burning eyes opening wider upon resting on what he had directed him to.

_Steve_.

About to take a step towards the resting man, the Elder's quiet voice had him halting, "Words spoken to him now will only fall on deaf ears…"

Hugo frowned while lowering his gaze to Steve's chest, watching the steady rise and fall of his breathing through the blanket. He said nothing, only giving a weak nod of his head as a response, turning instead to face his sister, whispering an apology for taking so long to give it to her.

She thanked him while taking the clay cup, sipping on its cool contents while watching him take a seat next to her, his tired looking eyes falling on Steve's chest, staring at it as it continued its steady rise and fall indicating he was resting.

To Be Continued...

* * *

A/N: I have the next chapter done-but I must be at work in like 5 hours and would like **some** sleep. XD I know, so selfish of me. So night all, and hopefully you enjoyed this short chappy until I post the next. ;)


	5. Chapter 5 - Recovery

[Chapter V]

[Recovery]

* * *

Head throbbing as the blinding light that came in through the window right above the bed he was lying in ached his closed eyes, Steve groaned while rolling over onto his back gently, pushing the heavy blanket off his body in the process. After a few long seconds of regaining himself, his eyes fluttered open, dazed violet gaze scanning the room blearily. Body aching and mind confused, alarm began filling him as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

It was a small room, almost like a bedroom. On either side of the bed he was in were chairs and a stool. Paintings hung on the walls and a barely lit torch clung to the wall opposite the bed he awoke in.

Bookshelves served as nightstands on either side of the bed as well, and on top of them sat clay flower pots holding what looked like ferns that helped add a splash of color to the otherwise bland room.

The walls and ceiling looked to be made out of the same sandstone that Melz's Inn was constructed out of, vaguely making him wander if here were back in Sanderlorum. However, the flooring was made of fine birch wood planks, making him rethink someone else living out in the dessert had found him and brought him to their place.

Pushing himself up with much difficulty, he paused upon hearing voices filtering in through the closed wooden door to the far right and against the wall with the torch that was in front of him. He couldn't recognize them, causing his nerves to quickly kick into overdrive as he looked around the room for something he could use to defend himself with.

His heart sank as nothing came into view immediately.

His next option was to try and escape through the window above his bed, hoping that once outside, he would recognize the area and possibly find his way back to Sanderlorum and seek out Melz. He knew he would be safe to recover and heal within his Inn. Biting his lower lip to stifle his sounds of pain, he pushed himself up completely before sliding his legs over the edge of the soft bed, bare feet slightly chilled against the wooden flooring. He took a few seconds to wait and see if his head would stop spinning and the nausea would pass, also taking the time to look himself over.

Someone had been taking rather good care of him by the looks of it. All his wounds were cleaned and dressed properly and left little to no chance of infection. An awkward thought then crossed his mind as he also took note of his lack of clothing. Shirtless and pantsless, he was left only clad in beige colored shorts that he knew for a fact were _not_ his.

Taking in deep breaths in an attempt to keep himself calm as pain began shooting up and down his entire being, he grasped the stool that was sitting by the bedside, using the small piece of furniture as leverage to support himself while standing to his feet.

His body still weakened by both the injuries brought on by the Mobs and the lack of decent nutrients as his stomach ached, his knees buckled before giving out underneath his weight, a cry mixed with both surprise and pain alerting those in the other room, as well as the dull sound of his body crumpling to the floor.

Quickly trying to recover as hurried footsteps reached his ears followed by the sudden bang of the door being thrown open and hitting the wall, Steve attempted to swing his arm around in self-defense as someone fell by his side, gently placing their hands to his shoulders and struggling to still his actions.

"Steve! You're awake! Good heavens, what happened? Why are you out of bed, dear?"

The voice hit home, instantly causing Steve to cease all motions and allowing his body to relax against Glorenda's tender grasp. Soon, the presences of two others were upon him, eyes dilated from pain and fear skimming over the worried faces of Hugo and Kelsa. He tried to speak, but his tongue felt heavy and numb within his mouth.

"Come. Come. You are not well enough to walk yet. Kids, help me get him back into bed please…" she asked softly.

Both Hugo and Kelsa nodded and anxiously aided her. Within moments, Steve was safely back in bed, tucked under the thick and warm blanket once again.

Kelsa climbed on the bed and sat next to Steve to his right, while Hugo sat on the edge of the mattress to his left and by his feet. Glorenda took a seat on the wooden stool that was also to his left after picking it up from where it had fallen over when Steve fell.

Nothing was said at first until Steve managed to swallow the thick lump in his throat, voice horse and painful to speak. "W-what happened?"

Glorenda smiled sweetly while brushing a few stray strands of sweaty brunette hair from Steve's forehead, the young miner flinching away automatically at the touches. "You were a foolish man… trying to lure the Mobs away while injured so badly." Though true, no real harshness could be heard in her tone. And her smile remained while she leaned back. "Melz and Hugo went out looking for you after you had left. When they found you, you had been cornered by the Mobs, weak and confused, barely conscious and aware of your surroundings. Just before the monsters were able to get to you, they managed to beat them back and save you, bringing you back here to be treated. You passed out on the return… scaring the life out of all of us as you looked no more alive than some of those Mobs out there." she explained softly. "Our Village Elder tended to all of your wounds. Melz continued maintaining his stand and the Inn while Hugo, Kelsa and I stayed here and helped our Elder out, each of us taking turns covering different shifts so that there was always someone watching over you while you slept."

Steve remained silent while taking in what she was saying, his gaze glancing down towards Hugo at the mentioning of him helping save him. The teen looked away almost instantly, as if ashamed for some reason.

Shrugging it off with a forced indifferent expression, Steve looked back up at Glorenda, testing his voice once more, "H-how long…?" he tried asking, wincing at the burning sensation that scratched his throat.

"That you have been sleeping? Our Village Elder thought you would only be resting for a full two days… but the stress of your wounds and exhaustion from your journey to our village forced you to be asleep for nearly four days."

His eyes opened wide at this news. _F-four days? I've been asleep for four whole days?_ he thought to himself while turning his attention to his right hand as it began toying with a loose thread of wool from the blanket.

Before he was able to ask anything else, Glorenda turned to Kelsa, asking her to bring a cup of water for Steve from the kitchen, before facing Hugo and smiling to him, "Hugo. Be a dear please and go inform both Melz and the Elder that Steve has awakened, would you?" she asked the teen nicely.

"Yes, ma'am." Hugo said while slipping off the mattress and quickly heading out the door, followed by his sister.

Steve watched him leave before sighing, "Bet _he's_ happy I'm awake…" he whispered, finding that by speaking softly it spared his throat from much of the pain.

Glorenda blinked and looked to him surprised by his almost emotionless tone, "Well of _course _he is. We _all _are!" However, the shake of his head had her raising a brow. "What do you mean then, Steve?"

Brows furrowing together in discomfort at talking, he hesitated while waiting for the girl to return with the water. Once she reentered the room, Steve released a grateful noise while taking the cup after propping himself up with Glorenda's help, downing its contents and enjoying the coolness coating his throat.

After thanking Kelsa and setting the now empty clay cup down, he looked over at Glorenda. "If I was brought back to Sanderlorum, then I'm sure he was put here against his will by Melz." he smiled sadly before looking away. "That boy hates me. There's no mistaking it now… I'm certain Melz had him here to watch over me as punishment or something for the way he treated me. I just… I just wish I knew what I had done to earn such loathing from someone so young."

Glorenda sighed, her smile filled with sadness of a different reason. She placed her hand atop Kelsa's head while speaking to her, "Kelsa, dear… Go play outside sweetheart. You've been in here looking after Steve for so long, you've earned a break. Go get some fresh air, sweetie."

Kelsa nodded while slipping out from under her hand, "Yes, ma'am." Her tone was almost emotionless. Despite her age, she was very bright and knew the real reasoning behind her dismissal.

Waiting until the front door was heard, Glorenda turned all her attention towards the miner now, "Steve-Hugo doesn't hate you. This village… it used to be much larger than what you see today. " she began, taking note that she had the young man's full attention. "We all used to be so welcoming of strangers and travelers. Always having an array of new faces coming and going, it used to be so busy and lively here." Her smile seemed happy while reminiscing the past. However, as she continued, her smile faded all together and was replaced with a scowl, anger flickering in her green eyes. "But then one day, a man came. He was so nice to everyone… he told great tales and gave the children gifts from other biomes. His kindness was similar to yours in fact." she chanced a glance at him, seeing the surprise in his violet eyes. She continued. "But then that night… a horrible attack befell our village. The Mobs were more in numbers and hostility than normal. We thought that that was going to be the end of our village… until the stranger came from our Inn he was staying at. Wielding a sword made of the purest material this land hides deeply underground."

Steve's eyes widened even more, knowing what material she was referring to—

_Diamond_.

Glorenda shuddered as she continued; the pain of remembering that night evident in her eyes. "We thought… he came out to fight against the beasts. H-he ran at a zombie that was attacking a man that was a good friend of ours, b-but instead of driving his blade into the Mob… h-he instead slayed Germarald. He then began laughing madly as he took his blade back, striking out and killing as many people as he could. It was almost as if he and the Mobs were in a killing contest. All the homes and buildings that he came close enough to, he set ablaze with the torch he was carrying in his spare hand." Her eyes grew glassy before she wiped at them, sniffling quietly before continuing. "I am sure you are able to by now piece two and two together…"

Steve remained silent, his eyes no longer on the middle-aged woman but instead focusing on his hands that were resting in his lap. After a few seconds he hummed with a single nod of his head. "Hugo and Kelsa… their parents were killed by this man. Weren't they?"

"Yes. Ten years ago. Ever since that night… this village has secluded itself from the rest of the land. The villagers here have shut out any and all visitors who pass through our small settlement. This is why… you received the harsh welcome from all that you did. It is nothing you did to us. So _please_ Steve, do not think it was your cause." she reassured him with a sad smile.

Her reassurance did little to ease the guilt that was still finding its way inside him however.

An uncomfortable silence soon settled between them, the air thick with tension as the story echoed in his mind. He was so lost within his thoughts that when the door to the house burst open, he jumped so badly he nearly fell out of the bed had Glorenda not caught him.

"Steve!? You're awake!?" Melz could be heard shouting before the man was even seen.

Sighing while trying to get his nerves to calm, a weak smile was forced onto Steve's face as both Melz and a man much older than the vender that had him guessing was the Village Elder entered the room he was being kept in, "Hey, Melz…"

"Great Notch! You had us all so worried! We were beginning to think you would never wake up!" Melz approached the bed and looked Steve over, nodding in approval at seeing none of the bandages needing to be replaced just yet.

Chuckling almost nervously, Steve lowered his gaze to the blanket, feeling very uncomfortable.

He was not used to all this attention being focused on him. Even while injured.

Melz was about to ask the miner a question when the Village Elder approached with a warm smile nearly hidden behind his braided beard, "Steve, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt too greatly?"

The roughness and age to the man's voice had Steve coming to the conclusion almost instantly that this man was in fact this 'Village Elder' that Glorenda spoke of. Looking up to meet eyes with the man, Steve tried to mask his pain behind a convincing smile. "I'm feeling great actually. Just a little sore here and there… but nothing too substantial. I'll be up and out of your way within the hour, so you don't need to—"

"Nonsense." the Elder interrupted surprisingly sternly despite the kind smile still on his features while taking a seat next to the bed to Steve's right. "Your smile may be able to fool the younger people of this village, young man. But I have many more years of experience. It will take more than that to trick me. I can see it just in your eyes alone that you are still in great pain. Here, drink this. It will help ease some of it." He then held out a wooden bowl about half full of a pink liquid.

Steve blinked and looked down at it, recognizing the color almost instantly as a healing potion. Thanking him quietly, a pink blush faintly tinged his cheeks out of embarrassment as when he tried to reach up for the bowl; he pulled on the stitches from the arrowhead that had hit near his collar bone, causing a low hiss of pain to slip from him as he flinched slightly.

Both Glorenda and Melz gave each other worried glances while the Elder simply chuckled sadly, "You see? You are even unable to lift a hand to take a barely full wooden bowl from an old man like myself. You are young, Steve. But not invincible. You received a lot of damage from those Mobs… and so you must rest to recover and heal from your injuries."

Steve looked down and away to the left, eyes narrowed in a weak glare while a frown pulled at his lips. "I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've been injured like this…"

"I saw."

Blinking, Steve turned back to face the Elder once again, one brow raised in confusion. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"I had to remove your clothing the night of the attack so that I was able to see you wounds clearly in order to clean and dress them properly. You have many scars."

Embarrassed, Steve looked away once again. "Oh…" Though the knowledge that it was the village Elder that had removed his ruined clothing eased some of his nerves.

Questions were bounced back and forth as the Elder, with Melz's help, checked over Steve's injuries and changed what bandages needed to be.

It wasn't for another two whole days until Steve had regained enough strength to be able to leave the bed and walk around the Elder's home.

It was considerably larger than the other homes looked. Leaving the room he was in opened out into a large living space. To the right was the front door, ahead of him was an opening that looked like it lead into the kitchen and right outside it was a large table with chairs and benches that looked like it could sit about six comfortably.

To the far left was a hallway that split off to the right and left.

To the right was a room barely a fourth the size of the room he had woken up in and simply held a bed, a small table and one chair and one small window that was the only source of light. He later found out that the small and basic room was the Elder's room.

To the left was a long hallway that stretched down the entire length of the house, and lining it's walls were tall bookshelves crammed full of many different books about potions and illnesses. About Mobs and treasures. Even a decent section pertaining to many of the myths and legends he had heard about. Everything was neatly organized and very easy to navigate.

On the evening of his third day since leaving his bed, Steve brought a candle over to skim over the book titles upon receiving permission to do so. After finding a good handful on the topic of choice, he gathered his materials up and brought them all over towards the table.

He spent well into the night reading about different facts and fictions about The End and the Ender Dragon that supposedly was sealed within, taking down notes of new things he hadn't heard about before.

Stifling what he felt like was his hundredth yawn, Steve closed the last dusty book and gathered everything up, taking them all back over and returning them to their proper places.

Just about ready to turn in for the night, the spine of a book caught his eye suddenly. Bringing the light of the fading candle up close, he saw it was a black book bound by warn-out red leather lace.

The words engraved in the spine were written in a language he was unfamiliar with. Curiosity getting the better of him, he gently began pulling the book out, able to read what the front of it said. It was clearly a book about a myth he had never heard of before, a brow rising in confusion as he flipped through some of its yellowing pages and reading the contents.

Slamming the dusty book shut as it held very little interest to him now that he found out it was nothing more than a ghost story more or less, he shrugged while carefully putting the aging book back in its correct place. "Sorry… but I think the legend of the Ender Dragon is really the only myth I'm curious about for the time being. Certainly nothing about this ghost by the name of Herobrine." he chuckled to himself while turning his back to the books and heading back towards his 'room'.

A sudden cold chill ran up his spine when he had said that name however, causing him to whip around as he was startled, getting a strange feeling like he wasn't alone at first before simply shrugging it off and blaming it on being overly tired.

* * *

Time passed and his wounds continued to heal. His presence in Sanderlorum was no longer hated nor feared but rather welcomed and enjoyed.

As he began earning the trust of the people, he started sharing his secrets to the two older miners that lived there, as well as teaching them his crafting tricks and techniques, and before too long trading some of his own items with emeralds from the miners.

Tey, one of the two miners, had suggested that once Steve's wounds were one hundred percent healed, he and Faen should take him to the mines not far from outside of town, and that the three of them should all go mining together.

Steve was excited by this and hoped his wounds would be fully healed soon.

As more time passed on, Steve slowly began losing his interest in the myths as he found himself becoming more and more at home around the people of Sanderlorum and the village herself.

He even began helping with repairs to the aging buildings and dug out a new well that wasn't dried out, bringing fresh clean water back to the village.

Between Tey, Faen and Steve, resources began growing as well as the village itself, slowly bringing renewed life back into the village and returning it back to the way it was a decade ago.

With the help of a few of the village children including Kelsa and Hugo, a small flock of sheep were gathered as well as a herd of cows that unfortunately only consisted of two. Luck was on their side however as the two caught were a male and female and were already expecting a calf.

Before long, a few pigs were eventually caught from the same plains biome nearby and brought back to the village to breed and grow in numbers.

Wooden fences were built long before the animals were caught and now as their numbers continued to multiply, Tey, Faen and Steve worked together to build shelters from the sun for the animals.

Just when the village reached a truly flourished point, nearly the entire village came before Steve one morning.

The Village Elder walked up to him with a slight limp due to his age, his kind smile ever present as he cleared his throat to silence those that were speaking a little too loudly, "Steve. We all wish to thank you for helping bring back our tiny home. You have done so much for us and have asked little to nothing in return. So… as a thank you from all of Sanderlorum; we welcome you to stay. For as long as you wish." He paused and waited for a moment before adding with a wide grin, "We offer our village to become your new home, Steve."

Steve stared at him, taken aback by the offer. He had been planning on leaving soon… but he could never really bring himself to ever actually _leave_. He found he was enjoying his time here far too much and was becoming too attached to all the people here, and had in fact been purposely stalling so he wouldn't have to leave.

But now they were offering him to stay here. To live here with them! To make this village his new permanent home! He wouldn't have to wander around aimlessly anymore! Never have to worry about building a shelter sturdy enough to survive an entire night of Mob attacks against it, barely getting any sleep as the fret if the stronghold would hold up against the beatings or fall to them and have a fight on his hands would keep him from rest.

He wouldn't be cold anymore on the nights he _did_ manage to find enough peace to sleep.

So it went without saying that a wide almost goofy grin spread across the young miner's face as he nodded his head quickly, pure joy filling his chest to the point of feeling about ready to burst. "R-really? A-are you guys sure?"

The people that have all gathered around him began chuckling while nodding their heads, small chatter soon broke out the instant Steve agreed to stay, everyone soon cheering and scoping out a piece of property of Steve's liking to all work together and begin building the young man a home to call his own.

For the first time since Steve could remember, pain, sorrow and grief were not on his mind or dragging his heart down. Joy, happiness and peace filled him as he chose a perfect spot that was practically right behind the larger Inn, Melz and Glorenda both deciding on adding a sort of backdoor that would lead straight out to where Steve's home would be for the miner to have easy and quick access into the Inn without having to go through the stable should he ever need it.

His life seemed to have reached a perfect point. He had new friends and new family, his dark past could possibly leave him now that he had a bright future.

Steve should have been wise enough to know that all great things—

—must eventually come to an end.

To Be Continued…


	6. Chapter 6 - Legend of The Great Hero

[Chapter VI]

[Legend of the Great Hero]

Months have passed since he had found a new home within Sanderlorum and her people.

Six months to be precise…

Making it a full year since he had washed up on this huge land after the ship he and others were seeking freedom on had sunk into the dark black waters in the ocean just beyond the bay of the land.

He never thought he would be able to find a place to finally call his 'home' after what had befallen him in the past. But he was quickly becoming a believer in even the most impossible of miracles.

All this talk by the people about this being by the name of 'Notch' was starting to make him question whether it should be this entity he should be thanking for his "second chance at life" as some were beginning to put it.

Regardless of who it was he should or shouldn't be thanking… during the time his own home was being constructed, he had accepted Melz and Glorenda's offer to have him stay with them in their Inn until it was completed. The room he stayed in was far more superior to the room he had been in his first stay in the small town. In fact, it was more of a suite than anything, having more space and a bed twice the size the normal ones.

Also by staying with them, it was becoming increasingly obvious how much closer he was bonding with the couple. As well as both Kelsa and Hugo.

He would drop anything and everything should any of those four need any assistance of any kind. Whereas the rest of the village, he still showed weary signs as he continued to walk on eggshells in their presence.

Though he was enjoying the new room and his time with Melz and Glorenda, his home had been completed within the first two months after his acceptance to their offer, surprising him even further as the people proved to both him and themselves that they in fact truly desired for him to stay within their village as they strived to have his new home completed so quickly.

It wasn't anything big or fancy. A simple single story home with only two main rooms to be exact. Everyone helping with the construction of the house were all surprised with the basicness to the plans. They had thought that Steve would have had more of a fancier idea laid out for his permanent home since his details to his craftsmanship showed he had a very different sense in taste and style than the people and they were beginning to like and enjoy his divergent ways.

Upon entering, it opened up into a large living area, to the left of which was the kitchen. A small table with only two chairs was to the right, showing tell-tale signs that Steve had no intentions of entertaining much. Straight across the front door was another door that led into the room where Steve slept. Once inside it, to the right was a small door that led into a basic little wash room. His bed was positioned underneath a wide window opposite the door.

On either side of the bed were bookshelves that were crammed full of books about The End and the Ender Dragon that the Elder had given to him as gifts.

Steve was quickly settling in to his new home and was slowly beginning to block out the bad memories of his dark past, his present being filled with laughter and peace.

But he wasn't a fool and certainly did not allow his current ease to blind him completely. He had always felt a small presence beginning to bother him as if something terrible was slowly creeping up on him. And unfortunately, the night finally came when his uneasy feelings were proven true and darkness caught up with him once again…

He, Tey and Faen had just finished another long day of mining within the mines just on the outskirts of the desert biome they lived. Tey and Faen had spent years digging into the face of a large mountain and nearly two decades later managed to turn it into a very resourceful mine.

Steve was extremely impressed to see that the mine had been dug down deep enough to have hit the smoldering bedrock that more or less signaled your dead-end for digging any deeper.

The dust coming from the dark rock made it nearly impossible to see, and the heat coming from beneath them made it dizzying to stand. Tey and Faen had told Steve that no real good materials were down that deep so they all agreed to remain a few levels above the heat and darkness.

They had returned late in the evening with a handful of freshly mined iron ore that they planned on smelting in the morning and therefore transforming it into new tools and weapons. Tey and Faen took the ores to store them in the small storage room that was slowly being turned into a sort of blacksmith shop and waved Steve off as the younger man headed towards his house to retire for the night.

He greeted each person he passed, a small smile spreading across his face as he thought back to the way he was treated when he first came to this village months ago by these same people.

They had been gravely hurt and now he understood completely. The mild anger and wall of hurt that had hit him had all vanished as he worked day and night to earn more and more of their trust.

As well as the people themselves worked to gain his own.

Placing his right hand over his lower stomach as if to silence it's growl, he suddenly stopped right at where he had to turn to the right to head to his home, swallowing as the young woman who had caught his attention giggled at something one of her friends whispered to her.

The girl who had told a joke saw Steve and smiled, lifting her hand up high and waved, "Hello there, Steve! Did you guys find any emeralds today?" she called out.

The small group of five women all looked up, the girl who had waved to him appearing to be the only one happy to see him.

Chuckling with a shake of his head, he slowly approached the group of young women, brushing off the feeling of indifference that was coming from them. "Sadly, Tamerin, we didn't. Nothing but more iron. But now we have enough material to fix your father's wagon." he smiled.

Tamerin was considerably younger than the other women, nearly by seven years, making her close to ten years younger than Steve himself. Her shoulder length black hair was tied back into a small bun, the wind unable to disturb it as it began lightly fluttering her tan colored dress and black shawl.

The woman who Steve has been admiring for a few months now had waist long black hair that was much darker than Tamerin's, and was braided and tossed over her left shoulder. Her green eyes had narrowed upon Steve approaching, turning her head slightly away from him as she began busying herself with preventing the breeze from upsetting her brown skirt and white blouse.

Steve turned his attention to the older woman, swallowing thickly before speaking, his tone slightly nervous. "Telzaah… We can fix your watering cauldron as well. We've gathered enough material to even make that attachment you wanted to help with your garden."

She gave a curt nod of acknowledgment to him, before replying without making eye contact. "Great. Thank you, Steve. This will help produce even more food for our people during the rough droughts." she responded rather emotionlessly to him.

Faltering slightly, Steve cleared his throat before trying a new approach. "T-that's great! If there's anything else you'd like made, we can. There's plenty of material now. B-by the way Telzaah… y-you look great today."

Scoffing rather loudly at that, she finally looked up, her glaring green eyes locked onto his wide violet. "Look, Steve. You're a good guy and all… but _please_ knock this off. Everyone else may have accepted you, but you are _still_ an outsider. And will always **be** an outsider. I have no interest in something as worthless and meaningless as **you**." she spoke coldly, earning a gasp from Tamerin and muffled snickers from the other three.

Steve's chest tightened while aching, but he smiled and chuckled while scratching the back of his head. "Heh, y-yeah… give a guy credit for trying though, right? A-anyways. You still look great today." He began laughing more at himself while turning to leave them. About halfway to the fork where he would now take a left, he turned back around to face them, walking backwards as he called out to them, "Also! While we were out, a storm has begun growing over in the forest biome southeast from Sanderlorum! Tey said it looks like it'll head this way by nightfall! Make sure your homes are secure!" And with that warning, he gave them all one last flash of a forced smile before disappearing behind the corner.

Tamerin frowned while watching Steve leave, weakly waving to him before turning to glare at her friend, "Telzaah! What the hell was that for? You **know** Steve really likes you! Why were you so heartless to him? He's a great guy and will do anything for any of us!"

Telzaah however scoffed with a roll of her shoulder. "I know. But I meant what I said. I have no interest in a man like that."

One of the other three laughed while bending over to pick up her basket of wheat, "There's no need to get so worked up over it, Tamerin. He's just a loser. I mean honestly, a man who spends his time underground digging up rocks for a living is sure to be boring. And hardly capable of _any_ passion where it counts." She giggled with a wink to Telzaah who laughed in response.

Tamerin however glared at the other, "Oh really, Leannzah? My, that's a beautiful bracelet your mother gave to you. What's it made of? What? Emeralds? And just _who_ do you think she had asked to not only _find_ the material but to even **make** it?! And have you ever even bothered _listening_ to his stories? He's had more excitement in his lifetime than this whole village has in hundreds of years! And seeing how he treats everyone and puts their needs before his I think he would be a very passionate partner! He has a huge heart! By the way, Leannzah? Not sure if you knew this, but Steve made that bracelet for **free**! Even despite it being for **you**!" she continued, taking a deep breath before adding with a hot blush tinting her cheeks, "Personally I'm jealous of you, Telzaah! I would love to have Steve attracted to me! But sadly… I'm too young I fear."

The other two women watched the fight going on between Tamerin and Telzaah silently, while Leannzah stared into the deep green emeralds of the birthday gift her mother had given to her just two weeks ago the day before she passed away from her illness she had been battling for the past eight years. "S-Steve… made this…?"

Telzaah sighed while picking up her own basket of wheat, sensing the change in the atmosphere singling Steve was right. "Whatever, Tamerin. Go ahead and have him! I'm sure when the time comes and he hits rock bottom, he'll be so desperate enough for a quick lay to take even _you_. All men are like that. They'll take what they can get." she called over her shoulder while turning her back to the younger girl.

Tamerin growled under her breath before spitting back between clenched teeth. "_You_ would certainly know that."

The other three girls gasped while Telzaah stopped with a jerk, slowly turning to look back at the youngest of their group, "What did you just—?"

"I don't even know **what** Steve could possibly see in you. He knows you're the go to girl… yet he _still_ tries to win you over without the sole purpose of bedding you! Though I do hope this has made him finally see the kind of heartless bitch you really are." she hissed before turning on her heel and leaving the stunned women behind.

Leannzah lowered her gaze back to the bracelet she had fallen in love with the instant her mother held it out to her, the strongest feeling of guilt beginning to ease its way into her. "His work is…" she began whispering to herself under her breath, the other women still watching Tamerin leaving missing her words.

A small smile crept across her face as she brought her wrist up so the bracelet was pressed against her chest above her heart, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. She knew she would forever cherish the piece of fine jewelry since everything that was given to her from her mother she cared deeply for.

The guilt that filled her at knowing that the one person she helped aid with treating so cruelly and horribly… was the same person who had put his life in danger to find the stones and make the last gift her mother would ever give to her began breaking her heart, her tears falling to the sand as she turned to leave the group and silently walked back towards her home she lived in alone now.

"Thank you… S-Steve…" she choked while bringing the bracelet to her lips and placing a tender kiss to the smoothed out surface.

* * *

Slowly shutting the door to his home and locking it, Steve sighed, his shoulders slumping as he turned his back to the wooden door and collapsed against it, eyes half lidded as they slightly began burning, a new wave of demoralization falling over him as the encounter with the girl he had been recently crushing on replayed in his mind.

"I guess… I really _am_ still just an outside… no matter what I do…" he whispered sadly to himself.

Letting a weak chuckle pass his parted lips, Steve shook his head while pushing himself away from the door.

Deciding he would just skip out on dinner as he found himself not really hungry any longer, he went straight into his bed room, stripping his dirty clothing after entering the small washroom to the right.

Seeing the coal stains on his clothing, he made a face while pushing them under the cold water after applying some of Glorenda's special homemade soap and opting to allow them to soak overnight, berating himself coldly for his appearance before those girls.

Changing into his night ware after cleaning himself up, Steve stretched while walking around his bed. Cracking his right eye open to glance out the window above his large bed, Steve paused as a flash a lightening in the distance lit up the darkening sky.

The weather just outside was beginning to show the signs of the rare forthcoming of the thunderstorm.

Steve blinked while turning more to face the window, looking out towards the neighboring rainforest biome in the far off distance and watching the trees as they were already beginning to bend to the winds of the storm raging within their territory.

"It really _is_ a bad storm… straight off the ocean waters. I sure hope the animals living there have found secure shelter. The Mobs are sure to tear up the place when the sun sets and the worst of the storm passes." Steve muttered to himself as he watched. He feared the storm would last well into the night, and prayed to 'Notch' to watch over and protect the animals in the forest.

Sighing while tearing himself from the glass keeping him separated from the outside world, Steve walked the remainder of the way around his bed, stretching once more before sitting down with a tired sigh, his body no longer aching as badly now that he was sitting down.

His chest continued to ache though as Telzaah's harsh words continued to stab at his heart. "I'm an idiot." He sighed quietly while maneuvering himself under the blankets and snuggling into his pillow.

With one last deep sigh, he closed his eyes and began drifting off into a dreamless sleep, the soft whisper of the wind helping ease him before it turned into loud howling he was sure would be waking him soon.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long he had been resting as the sun was still barely visible. The wind beginning to beat against his window and the walls of his small house surprisingly did not disturb his much needed rest. The pounding against his front door, however, startled him awake, causing Steve to nearly fall out of his bed while grabbing one of the two spare iron swords he always kept secured between his bed and the bookcases on either side.

Arming himself just as he came to the door, Steve threw it open, bringing his weapon up high in case it was a zombie and not a villager.

His sword was quick to fall however upon seeing the pale and worried face of Hugo, the teen panting while doubled over as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Hugo! What the hell are you doing here?" Steve scolded, looking out past the teen and towards the right, growling under his breath as sure enough he saw zombies beginning to slowly walk towards their village the further the sun set. "Both the Mobs and that storm are coming this way! You should be home, protecting Kelsa!" he continued while trying to drag the tired teen indoors.

Hugo struggled against him however, shaking his head desperately. "Kelsa got her foot stuck and I can't get her free!"

Steve just stared at him, unbelieving what the teen had just told him. "Are you serious?" Upon receiving another desperate nod from Hugo, Steve sighed before growling, pushing Hugo back outside while shutting his door behind them. "Alright. Where is she, Hugo?"

"Just right over here!" he called out, already running off towards where they were building another much deeper well.

Rounding the corner, Steve sighed as sure enough, Kelsa was struggling to free her ankle from some of the tools and materials lying out that Tey seemed to have forgotten to put up.

Tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks as her fear continued to mount, crying out Steve and Hugo's names upon seeing them both approaching her.

Steve, having reached her first, put down his weapon and quickly began freeing the scared girl, telling her she was going to be alright in a calm and soothing tone. After getting her free, he briefly examined her for any visible wounds before asking if she could walk. With a nod of her head, he began leading them back towards his place, feeling since it were closest, the two of them could wait the storm out and sleep in his bed while he waited up until morning to take them over to the Inn.

Nearly to his home, Steve threw a quick glance over his shoulder, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw only Hugo falling him. Growling while narrowing his eyes, he turned to face the teen "Hugo! Where's Kelsa? Wasn't she just with you?" he yelled, not believing this was happening.

Hugo looked over his shoulder, gasping upon not seeing his little sister anywhere behind him.

_Tching_ to himself, Steve looked over to his right, seeing the Inn just a few houses down. "Listen, I'll go look for her. Go back to the Inn and stay with Melz and Glorenda. Understand?" he ordered, glad the teen nodded his head before turning to sprint down the pathway towards the inn with no further argument.

"Good." Steve sighed to himself while turning in the opposite direction and began down the way they had just come from.

It didn't take long before the girl's all too familiar scream of fear pierced the night sky, causing new adrenaline to pump through Steve's veins as he ran faster towards where the sounds were coming from.

_Dammit! Why does __**she**__ seem to be the one always getting into trouble!? _he cursed to himself while rounding a corner. _They should __**seriously**__ consider having them move into the Inn with Melz and Glorenda. The two of them are far too young to be living on their own like th— _However, his thoughts were derailed upon the site that was awaiting him…

Kelsa was slowly backing away from a creature nearly twice as tall as Steve was. And easily twice as thin as him!

It was black from head to toe, bright almost glowing violet eyes staring at the traumatized girl as she suddenly ran from it, crying out as it shrieked and made its move to harm her.

"Help me!" she cried to no one in particular.

Overly relieved and grateful for finding her unharmed, Steve ran out towards them with a shout of the girl's name and put himself between her and the creature, falling into an offensive stance while holding his sword up high with both hands.

Kelsa stopped upon seeing Steve, a wave of relief calming her down as the man managed to block the Mob's attack and keeping it at bay. But suddenly her fears returned as she noticed the miner staring at the creature's face. "Steve, stop! Don't look into its eyes!" she cried out desperately.

However it was too late. The creature shrieked at the man while teleporting to be right behind him, Steve quickly twisting himself to once again face it as it lifted its arms up to strike him, opening its large wide mouth as its deep purple eyes continued glowing brightly as they stared straight into his own.

"What the hell?!" Steve cried out while side stepping to avoid its attack as it brought its long limbs down, the ground where Steve had been standing being crushed under the deadly force it used.

It may have looked frail and weak, but it certainly was anything but.

"What the hell _is_ this thing?" he gasped while catching his balance, looking over towards Kelsa. Sensing they were both is serious danger, Steve tried making a run for the girl to grab her and flee.

His plan was ruined almost before he could take two steps as the tall creature had teleported right in front of him, causing Steve to halt in his tracks with a curse.

Holding his sword up to block the Mob's attack, Steve was pushed backwards from the force the creature exerted this time, his still brand new blade showing a small crack in the iron. "How can that be…?" he whispered in shock at the damage.

"Steve! Be careful!" Kelsa cried out to him, her voice barely heard over the winds as they picked up greatly and the sounds of other Mobs slowly making their approach as the sun had fully set and the darkness overtook the area.

Cursing once again, Steve began backing away from the creature, it taking long strides to follow him as he continued to lure it away from Kelsa. Just as it suddenly lunged at him, Steve's quick reflexes had him bring his blade up to block the hit, before immediately bringing it back and thrusting it outwards, successful with catching the creature's side and pulling a gut wrenching screech from it as it teleported away from him.

Watching him now from a safe distance, the creature acted as if it were studying him.

Feeling as if it found a blind spot, it teleported behind the young human once more, raising its long arms high while chattering softly.

Steve caught the move and twisted his body around, crying out while bringing his sword around with him with as much force as he could muster, managing to catch the startled Mob off guard, the blade of his sword sinking deeply into its left side, opposite the first wound he inflicted.

Crying out with an ear piercing scream, it staggered away from him, dark blood dripping to the sand the instant the blade was pulled free.

Steve began feeling horrible for bringing harm to this creature, but he long ago felt it became of battle for his life or its.

_Kill or be killed…_

Rather quick to recover, the creature was upon him once again, throwing punches almost recklessly as it was becoming apparently desperate now.

Successfully blocking each of its attacks, before long Steve was finally overwhelmed and when a particularly hard strike hit him, the miner was knocked backwards against the sand.

The creature, towering over him, stood tall; staring into his narrowed eyes while slowly raising its right arm, chattering softly to Steve and making strange sounds in barely heard patterns as if it were speaking to him, the human having no clue as to what it could possibly be saying.

About to bring his sword up to defend himself, Steve was startled as the creature released a sudden shrill cry as a few raindrops fell from the heavens and onto the parched sand.

Although confused by its reaction, Steve took full advantage of the Mob being distracted by the raindrops hitting it, tightly gripping the hilt of his damaging sword and releasing a loud shout just as he thrust the weapon forward, deeply impaling the tall creature in its lower stomach before it could recover and attempt at carrying out its attack on the miner.

The creature released an earsplitting scream like nothing Steve has ever heard before, Kelsa covering her ears as it fell to its knees, the human keeping the Mob upright as it slowly doubled over him, the chipped and cracked blade of Steve's sword still being deeply embedded within its dying body and his hands still keeping a firm grip on the hilt.

Thunder rolled in the near distance as lightning flashed, the bolts crawling across the black sky as the clouds seemed like they were almost ripped apart by the strikes; large cold droplets raining down upon them all as Steve remained on the ground and keeping his attention on the creature he had just taken down.

He stared at its face in pure disbelief that he had just slain it, the glow in its eyes quickly fading the heavier its body became against his own.

Soft pained sounds drifted out from the creature's throat as its eyes slowly closed, its body jerking as it choked up something suddenly and violently. Upon taking its final breath, the Mob released a long sigh of breath just before falling completely limp against the human's body, Steve letting out a startled cry as he caught its deadweight, feeling his clothes beginning to grow heavy from both the rain and the Mob's blood as it bled out on him.

Holding the now lifeless body of the creature, Steve blinked as he tried calming his nerves and adrenaline, the thunder around him once again reaching his ears just as the storm was upon them, the temperature of the dessert dropping to a rare coolness as the cold rain fell down heavily upon the dry land, the icy droplets snapping Steve out of his shock and causing him to pull his weapon slowly from the dead Mob's body.

The creature fell to the wet sand with a dull thud, its long unmoving body lying sprawled out.

Wide violet eyes continued to stare at the Mob's face for a few long moments until they flickered to something green that caught his eye as it sparkled in the flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder quickly following.

Lying right next to the creature's open mouth was a small, green sphere.

Tilting his head to the side, Steve bent down and picked up the orb, examining it closely just as Kelsa slowly began approaching the miner. He didn't acknowledge the young girl at first, his violet eyes too captivated by the beauty of the strange pearl like gem he had received from the Mob.

It was nothing he had ever seen before. So he wasn't sure if it were really a gem. But it certainly sparkled and held the beauty of one…

Suddenly feeling her presence however, Steve jumped and turned to face her, about to ask if she were alright until Hugo's voice called out to them.

"Steve! Kelsa!" he cried out, running up to them with a brightly burning torch. "I saw you fighting against something Steve, and I came to help!" he shouted while lifting his own iron sword Steve had personally handcrafted to be the correct length and weight for the teen to be able to use.

Chuckling despite his body still feeling jittery from the remaining adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Steve suddenly hissed in discomfort while dropping the orb to the sand, his left hand going to rub at his right forearm as it ached. "Guess it was able to hit me after all that…"

Hugo began asking Steve if he were alright while helping the older man off the ground, neither one noticing as Kelsa, who has remained silent, slowly walked up and gently picked the dropped orb off the ground, brushing the wet sand off its smooth surface tenderly.

Managing to convince Hugo that he was in fact alright, Steve looked back over at the creature with a sigh, Hugo now focusing his attention on his sister.

"Kelsa! How could you have gotten separated from us? At least you're safe." he sighed before blinking as he saw she was completely ignoring him. "Hey, what've you got there?" he at last asked, soon gasping the instant his green eyes lay on the orb.

"Is something wrong, Hugo?" Steve asked, turning to the two. They were just staring at the small orb the girl was now holding. Shaking his head with a roll of his shoulder, he walked up to the kids before giving the Mob one last look. "Anyways. We should really get inside." he gasped, still breathless from the fight against the creature that had just taken place.

However, neither of them said anything.

Hugo finally tore his eyes from the orb and looked at his sister, "Kelsa," he hissed under his breath. "is that…?"

"Yes." she responded just as softly.

The pouring of the rain and crashing of the thunder prevented Steve from hearing their exchanged words, however he knew something was up when Hugo suddenly looked over at him, eyes wide and almost appearing fearful as he suddenly turned and ran towards the Inn.

"H-Hugo!?" Steve cried out before looking down at Kelsa, "What got into him?" he nearly demanded.

However, his mild annoyance left him as he saw Kelsa, now staring wide eyed at _him_ and not the orb.

"It can't be…" she breathed softly, Steve unable to hear her words but by facing her, he was able to at least read her lips.

"What do you mean?"

* * *

Hugo continued running as fast as he could, breaths labored as his heart pound against his ribcage, the heavy rainfall doing nothing to slow him down.

Coming up to the steps of the Inn, he threw himself against the locked door, fists beating against the wood as he began shouting, managing to not only grab the attention of those within the Inn but also from the neighboring houses. "Melz! Melz, open up and come quick!"

The door was unlocked and opened quickly, Melz standing aside to allow the drenched teen entry but Hugo refused. "What is the matter? Where's your sister and why aren't you indoors? It's dark out, Hugo!"

Ignoring all questions from the older man and the presence of others as they began gathering despite the weather, Hugo swallowed the painful lump in his dry throat before looking up at Melz, their green eyes locking. "It's Steve."

* * *

Kelsa remained silent even as Steve continued asking her what had gotten into her brother.

Frustration began rising as he then just tried getting her out of the rain and indoors, but the girl absolutely refused to move from where she had been standing after picking the orb up.

"Kelsa! Come on!" he shouted, about ready to just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder until a familiar voice reached his ears over the rain.

"Steve?" Melz's voice called out to him from behind one of the houses.

Steve finally turned away from Kelsa, hoping maybe Melz could get some form of response from her since he seemed to be unable to. "We're over here, Melz… Can you help me get Kelsa out of this rain? She doesn't need to be in it." He smiled upon seeing the Inn owner turning a corner, followed closely by Hugo.

And a rather large group of armed villagers.

"Heh heh. Yeah, this rain certainly is something! It's rare it rains in this biome and even rarer it rains this heavy!" he laughed with a nod of his head. "Steve, are you alright? Hugo came to me and urged us all to come to you. He made it sound like you had gotten hurt." He spoke with concern heavy in his tone.

"I'm fine. Hugo came to me because Kelsa had gotten her ankle stuck. We were attacked by a very strange Mob… but we're alright now." He insured.

Relief could be both seen and heard within the small crowd of people. "We were worried. Come on, Kelsa. Don't need you catching cold now."

However she did not respond. Her green eyes were no longer staring at Steve, but right back at the green orb in her hands.

Melz narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he slowly approached the girl. "Kelsa? What have you got there girl?"

Steve sighed as even Melz didn't seem able to reach the girl. "I have no idea what that thing is. The Mob dropped it after I killed it. She has been staring at it ever since picking it up. When Hugo saw it he freaked out and ran away. I'm guessing that's when he went to you." Steve walked up next to Melz, surprised to see Kelsa looking up at the Inn owner and holding the orb out for him to see.

A sharp intake of air stung Melz's lungs, eyes wide in shock but brows furrowed as he stared at the small item. "T-there's no way—!"

Growling as now Melz seemed to be captivated by the strange ball, Steve narrowed his eyes, "Great. You too? What the hell is the big deal about this stupid orb anyways?"

However, he received no response as the crowd now all took in the site of the small item Steve had received from the Mob.

And then suddenly all at once; all eyes were on **him**…

"Can it really be true?" one villager questioned.

"It _has_ to be! That is an _Ender Pearl_!" another shouted, the thunder disrupting Steve's hearing but he thought the man's voice sounded… angry?

"An Ender… Pearl? What? What-hey!? What're you all doing!?" he shouted suddenly as multiple pairs of hands were upon him, gripping his arms, wrists and shoulders tightly.

One man took Steve's sword from him, the weapon being tossed to the ground and forgotten as they began half-pushing, half-dragging Steve away from where they were at and back into the village.

Steve continued to struggle against the hold the people had on him, worry beginning to fill him as they ignored all his words as he repeatedly asked them what was wrong and where were they taking him.

Even Melz.

"C-come on, guys! W-what is going on? Seriously, _where_ are you taking me?" He then blinked as the gravel path beneath his feet began to look familiar even in the darkness and heavy rain. "The Elder' house…"

Upon reaching the front of the residence, Hugo walked up calmly to the door, gently knocking on it before stepping back and away, holding his torch up high as he and others kept their eyes open for any potential Mob attacks.

It was unnerving how serious they were all acting so suddenly.

Seconds later, the old wooden door slowly creaked open, the Elder's wrinkled face and white beard appearing from behind the door, "Hugo, what is it? Melz! Steve?!" confusion continued piling up as the Elder soon saw nearly half of Sanderlorum was standing before him, much like the night they first brought Steve to him as the miner struggled to stay alive.

But now they were all holding him securely in place. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked sternly, but not threateningly.

The Elder looked over each villager with confusion just as Melz slowly brought Kelsa up towards the steps the elderly man stood.

"Kelsa. Go ahead and show him." Melz urged, giving the young girl a gentle nudge.

With a small nod of her head, Kelsa slowly approached the steps and carefully walked up them. Lifting her head up, she felt calmness warm her at the Elder's kind smile as he bent over slightly to be a little more at her level.

"Dear, Kelsa. What have you got to show me?" he asked tenderly.

Swallowing with another nod of her head, she brought her enclosed hands up for the man to see, separating her hands to expose the small pearl within her palms. "I had gotten stuck and Steve helped me. I was then separated from him and Hugo by—_an Enderman_—" she whispered the creature's name as if a great evil would befall her for uttering it.

The Elder's eyes widened slightly in shock as his smile fell, standing upright to look over at Steve just as the rest of the crowd gasped and began speaking quietly amongst themselves.

The heavy rainfall and rumbling thunder made it difficult to decipher their words, causing more and more alarm and panic to rise within Steve.

Suddenly feeling undoubtedly cornered and unfairly outnumbered, Steve looked up at the Elder almost desperately, before quickly looking over his shoulder at the rest of the people and those who held him, "Did I do something wrong with killing that creature? If so then I'm greatly sorry! I had no idea it was important to you! It was about to attack the girl! No one else seemed like they were going to do anything about it! And I can understand why! It was a terrifying creature… but her life being in danger forced me to act without thinking! It's not like you guys were planning on sacrificing—" Steve then cut himself off short as a horrid thought crossed his mind.

And the more he thought about it, sickness began rising in his throat…

There weren't a lot of females within this small village. It _couldn't_ be because of something so outlandishly farfetched and unimaginably cruel as they were being sacrificed to that creature…

_Could_ it?

"L-look. I never meant to stumble onto this. I never even planned on staying here for this long! Y-you can't blame me for not knowing! You **all** wanted me to stay here! I'll leave though… and I won't tell anybody about this place." he more or less plead, his tone growing more and more anxious as he began struggling once more against the hold on him, the men holding him tightening their grips on him though still not to a painful degree.

The Elder said nothing as he continued to stare into the wide, fearful violet eyes of Steve. Holding his hand out to Kelsa, the young girl lowered her head while gently placing the orb into his hand.

Bringing it closer to his face to see it clearer, he began slowly walking down the steps of his home and out into the rain. The villagers disbursed as the Elder made his way towards Steve.

Standing before the miner now, he suddenly held the orb out for him to take, the holds on him instantly leaving him and setting him free.

The villagers all took a few steps back away from Steve as he just stood still, completely confused as he watched them all backing down. Finally turning his attention to the elderly man standing before him in the pouring rain, Steve lowered his gaze to the green orb that everyone was calling an Ender Pearl.

Giving a quick glance up at the Elder, Steve swallowed while cautiously lifting his right hand, slowly taking the warm pearl from the man's hand.

Before he could fully take it back however, he cried out in surprise and yanked his hand in a failed attempt at getting away as the Elder's other hand suddenly clasped over his, holding his hand firmly as it held the pearl while slowly lowering himself to one knee, his head bowing down as he spoke loudly, his words causing the rest of the villagers to fall to their knees as well as their heads bowing down before Steve.

"Oh, great Notch! How this land has been awaiting for this moment to finally arise!"

Steve blinked, beginning to wonder now if he were dreaming. Maybe that creature had hit him on the head and he was knocked out?

Slowly lifting his head once more, the Elder smiled kindly up at Steve, accepting the miner's aid with getting back to his feet. "Please. Come inside, Steve. There is much to talk about. I am afraid that, much like the night you all brought him wounded to me, I must ask you all to return to your homes until morning."

"But Elder—!?" one man cried out.

"Trust me. There will be much to talk about when the sun rises. I want all of Sanderlorum to meet up at the village square at high noon. There, everything will be discussed. Following a celebration, of course." he added with a chuckle.

Wrapping his arm around Steve's shoulder and steering the completely dumbfounded and confused man into his house, the Elder began speaking to him to help ease his rushing mind. "Steve, there is much we must speak about."

"A-about what… exactly? W-what did I **do**?" he asked, his tone holding a very uncertain note to it as he thought about resisting.

But the kind smile and gentle chuckle that came from the older man somehow told Steve that everything was alright, allowing his body and mind to slowly relax and calm. "I shall begin by saying that your desire to reach The End and stand before The Ender Dragon may not be fueled by your young curiosity. But rather, being driven by a fate chosen by Destiny." he explained while shutting the door behind them and locking it once more after making sure everyone, including Melz, Kelsa and Hugo were all heading back towards their homes.

Steve just stood, his mind too confused to register how cold he was until the Elder beckoned him in further, placing more wood into the fireplace Steve and Tey had built for him just last month.

After placing a tan blanket made out of soft wool over Steve's shoulder's once the miner striped of his soaked clothing and put on a pair of black wool sleep pants and a grey wool sleep shirt, he went into his room and changed his own wet clothing before reappearing and entering the kitchen, soon bringing out a kettle filled with hot tea and two small clay cups.

Thanking him quietly while taking the cup after tea had been poured into it, Steve settled more into the bench portion of the large table that was set in the corner of the main room just outside the kitchen, the fireplace having been added on the opposite side the kitchen.

Pulling the blanket closer around himself, Steve took a timid sip of his tea while waiting for the other to speak.

After taking a few sips from his own cup, the Elder smiled while gently setting it down on the wooden table, "Tell me, Steve. With what all you have read about The End and the Ender Dragon, how much of the _full_ legend are you actually aware of?"

Rather surprised by the question, Steve looked down into the dark green liquid in his cup, "Pretty much nothing. I think that's what makes me so drawn to that particular myth. I can't get information from anybody about it, so that only adds more to its alluring tales."

Taking a deep inhale through his nose, the Elder grinned with a nod of his head, "It is true that it is one of the few legends the people here do not speak much of. There are three main myths as old as time that this land fears. One being about the Ender Dragon, of course. The other two are more about a great battle that had taken place between two demons."

Steve perked up, never before hearing anything about any demons fighting each other. "What are _those_ legends? I've never heard of them."

The Elder's smile faded as he took a sip from his tea after responding; "And you will not, I am afraid. Those two myths are best left buried beneath the bedrock where they lie."

Saddened at not being told the other two stories, Steve soon shrugged and returned back to the main topic. "Okay, so where do _I_ come into this exactly? Why was everyone acting the way they were out there?"

The Elder's smile returned as he looked back up at Steve, "Have you heard the segment of the myth about The End pertaining to 'The Legendary Great Hero who would find The End and liberate the Overworld of the Dragon that lurks within the depths of darkness'?"

Steve lowered his cup down to the table, eyes wide as he slowly shook his head. "N-no. I haven't." He thought he knew more or less everything everybody knew about that legend.

He was apparently wrong.

The Elder chuckled, "Not many remember it. And those who **do**, treat it as a sacred tale. But it has been a long time since I have thought about it, so I do not remember everything. It was said that every six hundred years, a man would be born into this world with the ability to hunt down and slay the Ender Dragon, thus freeing the world of the darkness that threatens to flow forth from The End. There is a gateway that connects The End with The Overworld. Over a thousand years ago, that gateway was discovered by the first ever Great Hero."

Steve leaned over, solely focused on the story the elderly man was sharing with him and no longer able to hear the roaring rain as it continued to crash down onto the land. "What happened?"

"He entered. No one truly knows what happened while he was within the Dragon's realm… but when he returned, he sealed away the gateway after deactivating it." The Elder's smile saddened slightly. "He did not slay the beast. But rather, kept it trapped within its dimension."

Steve wanted to ask why, but the words he spoke about no one knowing what had happened had him realizing it would've been a wasted question. A different question, however, came to him the more he thought over what had been told to him thus far. "You said… that this 'Great Hero'… is born every six hundred years, correct?" he began, continuing after receiving the confirming nod. "And what you're telling me now… that all happened over a thousand years ago… so then there was one more. Before me, I mean. Another hero?"

The Elder flinched slightly at those questions, however his smile had returned strong, clearly covering something up; "Yes. He too sought out the tomb that the first had created that the gateway is sealed within. He desired to finish what the first had failed to. Sadly, that hero met his end before he was able to reach his goal, the legends saying he had been relentlessly hunted down and brutally murdered in the dead of night by those that follow and obey the dark dragon." he whispered, his smile gone as a frown replaced it beneath his beard.

Steve swallowed hard at this knowledge. Does this mean he was going to be next to be hunted down?

Sensing his growing uneasiness, the Elder smiled with a chuckle, "Fear not, Steve. You are a strong man. And the dragon has undoubtedly lost most of its powers. I deeply believe the beast is in fact too weak to try and escape. Or to even contact its followers."

"That creature is one of them, wasn't it?" the miner asked.

A nod was his first answer, before he took a breath and spoke; "They are called Enderman. They come from The End freely."

Steve raised a brow in confusion at this. "They can come and go as they please? Then why not the dragon?"

The Elder smiled as he was quick to answer, "The Endermen are all apparently considerably smaller compared to the dragon. The legends say that due to its massive size, it is unable to pass between worlds without the strong connection via the gateway. None know just how big this creature is however…"

Groaning while digging the palms of his hands into his eyes as his head began aching, Steve let out a sudden laugh of disbelief. "And you all think **I'm**… the next Great Hero?"

"The legend says only the Great Hero can slay the Endermen with ease and obtain their pearl. The **key** to _finding_ the hidden gateway."

"With _ease_?" Suddenly, Steve let out a loud growl of anger while slamming his palms flat against the table that nearly toppled his cup over as he pushed himself to his feet. "The legend this, the legend that! Just _how_ do you **know** so much about it all of a sudden? Before when I was still healing and started reading your books, I had questioned you about it. You had told me it was all just fairytales that I shouldn't waste my time over! And _now_ you're giving me this elaborate story and speaking it as if it were all true!? Pointing at **me** and labeling **me** as this 'Great Hero' all because I killed a monster that was about to kill a young girl because no one else can seem to watch over her properly!?" he shouted, his anger at last getting the best of him.

The Elder remained silent as he allowed Steve to vent.

It was only understandable.

"You _really_ expect me to believe this story?" he then asked, his eyes narrowed in a glare as he leaned over the table, his body language daring the older man to answer.

"No. And I understand why it would be hard to. Honestly, you are handling this situation in a much calmer fashion than what I had expected." he chuckled, managing to bring Steve's anger and annoyance back down as the miner slowly sat back down while releasing a long sigh through his nose.

The Elder's smile then faded as he sighed, pushing himself to his feet and walking around the table to stand beside Steve, "Please do not take to heart that I had deceived you that night you had asked me about the legend. I had made a promise to continue on the vow my family had spoken so long ago."

Steve tilted his head to the side, giving the other a sideways glance as he waited for the older man to continue.

After a moment of hesitance, he did; "You see, Steve. I know so much about the legend… because I am the last living descendant of the very first Great Hero. And his tale had been passed down from generation to generation. Each time, the details became greyer and greyer as we felt it best to keep it a secret. We had decided to only speak of it amongst each other. Before my time, when the second hero was born, my family had aided him in his search for the gateway. Heartache befell this land when the tragedy of his end was brought to light.

"And now I am the last of my bloodline. Our vow to keep the legend's truth a secret and seek out and aid the next chosen hero will die with me. But—there is hope." His mood began lightening up as he continued, gently placing his right hand to Steve's shoulder. "I may yet still be able to fulfill our family promise to our ancestor. You must rest now, Steve. This is all too much for you to take in in just one night. Please, stay here for the remainder of the night." he insisted before excusing himself to his room.

Once Steve was left alone, the miner simply just remained in his seat, unmoving as he stared blankly into the liquid in his cup.

Everything was still so overwhelming, causing nausea to begin churning his stomach as he pushed himself onto his feet, legs shaky and weak as they carried him towards the door that led into the room he had been put in after receiving his injuries the night he rescued Kelsa.

Sitting down on the bed, he stared out the window, watching the rain continuing to pour with no signs of letting up any time soon.

His shell-shocked mind continued to draw a blank line as he slowly lay down on the mattress, half lidded violet eyes now staring up at the ceiling after rolling onto his back.

Everything was going so perfectly for him.

So then why?

_Why_ did this have to happen? He didn't want to be some special hero spoken of in legends and tales. He just wanted a quiet and normal life.

But that was beginning to seem like he was asking too much.

"Why me?" he whispered into the darkness of the room, feeling cold and lost as he rolled onto his right side, curling into himself and hugging his own body close as he tried to force his mind to shut down and sleep, the howling of the wind beating against the walls and window suddenly sounding very beautiful to him as it drowned out the voice of the Elder as his words kept replaying in his mind over and over and over again with no end in sight.

To Be Continued…

* * *

_A/N: Sorry once again for a slow update. Wanted to churn this out before this weekend since I'll be out of town for a wedding I'm in. I apologize if this seems to be a sort of "filler" chapter. i never meant for it to come out that way for I strongly dislike "fillers". But I do hope it's obvious now that the story is finally rolling! And I'm sure a lot of you are wondering where the hell Herobrine is... all in due time! ;)_

_(And I'm talking like... next chapter in due time...)_

_Anyways, hope you're all still enjoying this fic as much as I am writing it! :)_


End file.
